GIFT   OF 
MICHAEL  REESE 


PICTURES 


FROM 


ROMAN  LIFE  AND  STORY 


AUGUSTUS  (BRACCHIO  NUOVO). 


^PICTURES  FROM  ;,,;;: 

ROMAN   LIFE  AND  STORY 


BY   THE 

Rev.  a.  T.  CHURCH,  M.  A. 

LATHLY    PROFESSOR   OF    LATIN    IN    UNIVERSITY    COLLEGE,    LONDON 
AUTHOR    OF    STORIES     FROM     HOMER,     STORIES     FROM     VIRGIL,    ETC. 


IVI TH  ILL  US  TRA  TIONS 


NEW    YORK 

D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 

1900 


:v 


p^K 


33  < 


CONTENTS. 


rHArXEH  PAOB 

I.  A    CHILD   OP    FORTUNE 1 

II.  MAECENAS   AND   HIS   FRIENDS 10 

III.  A    DAY   WITH    HORACE 22 

IV.  THE    DEATH    OF   AUGUSTUS 31 

V.    A   MUTINY 41 

VI.    THE   EMPRESS-MOTHER 53 

VII.    THE   DEATH   AND   BURIAL   OP    GERMANICUS    ....  60 

VIII.    THE   RISE   AND   FALL    OF   SEJANU3 ^^ 

*^  IX.    TIBERIUS   AT    CAPRI 72 

X.    THE   MADMAN    ON    THE   THRONE 77 

XI.    CARACTACUS    BEFORE    CLAUDIUS 84 

XII.    THE    DEIFICATION    OF    CLAUDIUS 90 

XIII.  THE    DEATH    OF    THE    YOUNGER   ACRimNA     ....  95 

XIV.  A    STRUGGLE    FOR    FREEDOM 102 


92338 


VI  TABLE    OP    CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XV.    THE    GREAT    FIRE    OF    ROME 108 

XVI.   A   GREAT    CONSPIRACY 117 

XVII.    THE   LAST    HOURS    OF    A   PHILOSOPHER 136 

XVIII.    THE    DEATH    OF   NERO 141 

XIX.    A   NOBLEMAN   OF    THE    OLD    SCHOOL 148 

XX.    THE  BATTLE  OF  BEDRIACUM  AND  THE  DEATH  OF  OTHO.   159 

XXI.  AN    IMPERIAL    GLUTTON 169 

XXII.  THE    BURNING    OF   THE    CAPITOL 183 

XXIII.    A   STUDENT 193 

XXrV.   A    MAN    OF    BUSINESS .-504 

XXV.    A    SOLDIER   AND    SCHOLAR 217 

XXVI.    THE    STORY    OF   EPPONINA 227 

XXVII.    THE   DARLING    OF   MANKIND 235 

XXVIII.    A    GREAT    CAPTAIN     . 243 

XXIX.    A    ROJIAN    GENTLEMAN 253 

XXX.   A    FAMILY    OF   PATRIOTS 265 

XXXI.   A    FASHIONABLE   POET .   278 

XXXII.  A    CRIMINAL   LAWYER 290 

XXXIII.  A    JUST   EMPEROR 300 

XXXIV.  A    GREAT   SHOW 308 

XXXV.   A   ROMAN    AT   ATHENS 324 

XXXVI.   AN   IMPERIAL   PHILOSOPHER 335 


PICTURES  FROM  ROMAN  LIFE  AND  STORY, 


I. 

A  CHILD  OF  FORTUNE. 


Augustus. 

IN  the  spring  of  44  B.  C,  Augustus,  or,  to  give 
him  his  proper  name,  Caius  Octavius,  was  half  way 
through  his  nineteenth  year.  His  uncle  Julius  Caesar 
had  sent  him  to  Apollonia,  the  head-quarters  of  the 
army  of  lUyricum,  to  see  something  of  the  routine 
of  military  duty,  and  to  make  acquaintance  with 
the  soldiers,  while  at  the  same  time  he  kept  up  the 
studies  fitted  to  his  age.  On  March  15th.  Caesar  was 
assassinated.   The  lemons  at  once  offered  to  foUoT 


Z  A   CHILD    OF   FORTUNE. 

Augustus  to  Rome,  and  help  him  to  avenge  the  great 
Dictator's  death.  With  that  happy  mixture  of 
caution  and  courage  which  was  probably  half  the 
secret  of  his  good  luck,  he  declined  the  offer,  but 
resolved   to  visit  the  capital  in  a  private  capacity. 

Landing  in  Italy  he  heard  that  Caesar  by  his  will 
had  adopted  him  as  his  son  and  made  him  his  heir. 
The  troops  at  Brundisium,  the  port  of  disembarkation, 
saluted  him  accordingly  by  the  name  of  Caesar.  Early 
in  May  he  arrived  at  Rome.  * 

I  shall  not  follow  in  detail  the  events  of  the  next 
sixteen  years.  Throughout  this  period,  under  cir- 
cumstances of  the  greatest  delicacy  and  difficulty, 
the  young  statesman  conducted  himself  with  unfailing 
tact,  and  was  rewarded  by  almost  unvarying  success. 
One  after  another  his  rivals  made  fatal  mistakes  of 
which  he  promptly  availed  himself.  Antony,  a  great 
soldier^  whose  very  faults  somehow  endeared  him 
to  the  people,  alienated  their  hearts  by  his  mad  pas- 
sion for  Cleopatra.  To  ordinary  excesses  they  were 
indifferent,  but  it  was  intolerable  that  the  master  of 
Roman  legions  should  exhibit  himself  in  public  as 
the  bond-slave  of  a  foreign  queen.  And  then  at  Actium, 
when  the  crisis  of  his  fate  had  come,  and  it  was 
yet  possible  for  him  to  redeem  his  fortunes,  he  threw 

*  His  proper  name  now  was  Caius  Julius  Caesar  Octavianus. 
*  Augustus "  was  a  title  conferred  upon  him  some  years  af- 
terwards, when  the  Empire  was  finally  established. 


A   CHILD    OF   FORTUNE.  3 

away  his  last  chance  with  a  folly  that  seems  ahsolutely 
imbecile.  Probably  his  excesses  had  utterly  shattered 
his  nerves.  Sextus,  son  of  the  great  Pompey,  was  an- 
other adversary  who  might  have  been  formidable,  if  he 
had  been  true  to  himself.  So  strong  was  he  that  at  one 
time  Augustus  was  constrained  to  give  him  a  share  of 
the  Empire ;  he  had,  too,  a  great  party  at  his  back, 
for  the  adherents  of  the  Republic  would  have  rallied 
to  him ;  but  he  gave  away  his  chance  by  his  indolent 
inaction.  All  this  time  Augustus  went  on  steadily 
improving  his  position.  He  let  nothing  stand  in  his 
way.  He  could  be  merciful  to  enemies,  when  mercy 
suited  his  policy;  he  was  relentless  when  it  seemed 
expedient  to  be  severe.  His  action  was  never  fet- 
tered by  conscience;  but  then  he  was  never  hurried 
by  passion  into  crime. 

In  B.  C.  35  Sextus  Pompeius  was  betrayed  by  his 
freedman  Menodorus;  four  years  afterwards,  Antony 
was  defeated  at  Actium.  In  August,  B.  C.  29,  Augus- 
tus celebrated  a  triple  triumph  at  Rome.  He  had  closed 
the  temple  of  Janus,  a  token  that  undisturbed  peace 
reigned  through  the  Roman  world.  Only  twice  before 
had  this  been  done,  *  and  the  people,  worried  with 
the  incessant  bloodshed  that  had  exhausted  at  least 
three  generations  hailed  the  saviour  of  Society  as  nothing 

*  In  the  reign  of  the  legendary  Numa,  when  it  had  remained 
closed  for  thirty-seven  years,  and  after  the  termination  of  the 
Second  Punic  war. 


4  A    CHILD    OF   FORTUNE. 

less  than  a  God.  Augustus,  on  his  part,  was  careful 
not  to  offend  their  prejudices.  His  uncle  the  Dictator 
had  not  scrupled  to  aim  at  kingly  power,  and  had 
taken  no  pains  to  conceal  his  designs.  The  nephew, 
not  less  resolved  to  be  absolute  master  of  the  Empire, 
was  careful  to  play  the  part  of  a  first  citizen.  All 
the  powers  which  he  assumed  were  constitutional ; 
only  these  powers  were  combined  and  prolonged  in  a 
way  that  made  the  constitution  a  nullity.  He  was 
Emperor  (Imperator).  The  title  was  no  new  one.  It 
had  been  often  given  to  a  victorious  general  on  the 
field  of  battle  by  his  own  troops.  Augustus  held  it, 
by  decree  of  the  Senate,  in  perpetuity,  and  was  thus 
the  permanent  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Roman 
army.  This,  of  course,  was  the  back-bone  of  his  power. 

But  he  did  not  neglect  the  civil  side  of  his 
position.  Ho  was  Princeps  Senatus,  Chief  of  the 
Senate,  permanent  proconsul,  and  consul  whenever 
he  thought  fit  (he  actually  held  the  office  thirteen 
times).  And  he  also  held  permanently  an  office  which 
made  him  perpetual  leader  of  the  Commons.  The 
plebeians  from  early  times  had  regarded  the  Tribunes 
as  the  champions  of  their  rights,  and  Augustus, 
taking  skilful  advantage  of  this  feeling,  held  contin- 
uously the  power  of  the  tribunate.  * 

This    constitutional   pretence,  as  it  is  no  injustice 

*  This  was  not  all  done  at  once.  The  position  of  Augustus 
may  be  regarded  as  finally  settled  in  the  year  23. 


A   CHILD    OF   FORTUNE.  5 

to  call  it,  Augustus  was  very  careful  to  maintain. 
The  Dictatorship  was  offered  him,  but  he  strenu- 
ously refused  it,  absolutely  throwing  himself  on  his 
knees  in  the  earnestness  of  his  entreaties.  The 
Dictatorship  could  not,  by  law,  be  held  for  more 
than  six  months,  and  he  was  above  all  things  anxious 
not  to  break,  or  at  least  not  to  seem  to  break,  th« 
law.  The  title  of  "dominus",  not  far  removed,  it 
would  seem  from  that  of  king  (rex),  always  so  hateful  to 
a  Roman  ear,  he  angrily  repudiated.  On  one 
occasion  when  a  farce  was  being  acted  in  his  pre- 
sence, the  words,  "  good  lord  and  just"  occurred,  and 
the  people  springing  from  their  seats  shouted  their 
applause.  Augustus  checked  the  display  of  feeling, 
a^id  censured  it  in  the  strongest  terms  in  an  edict 
which  he  published  the  next  day.  He  would  not 
allow  the  word  to  be  used  even  in  jest  in  his  private 
circle.  He  would  not  permit  the  Senators  to  rise  from 
their  seats  either  when  he  entered  the  chamber  or 
when  he  quitted  it.  He  was  accustomed  to  walk, 
or  to  be  carried  in  an  open  chair  through  the  streets. 
His  salutations  were  as  free  and  unceremonious  as 
the  handshakings  of  an  American  President.  Petitions 
from  suitors  he  received  with  the  greatest  courtesy. 
To  an  applicant  who  was  obviously  shy  he  said, 
"  Why  do  you  give  me  your  paper  as  if  you  were  giving 
a  coin  to  an  elephant?" 

At    the  annual  elections  of  Magistrates,  still  kept 


D  A   CHILD    OF   FORTUNE. 

up  with  a  certain  show  of  freedom,  he  canvassed  in  the 
usual  way  for  the  candidates  whom  he  had  nominated, 
and  tendered  his  own  vote  when  the  tribe  to  which 
he  belonged  was  called.  When  he  nominated  his 
own  grandsons  for  office  he  was  careful  to  add, 
"If  they  shall  be  found  to  deserve  it." 

His  own  establishment  was  on  a  modest  scale.  For 
sOTue  years  a  humble  dwelling  that  could  not  com- 
pare with  the  splendid  dwellings  of  the  great  nobles 
and  capitalists  of  Rome  sufficed  for  him.  This  was 
near  the  house  of  the  orator  Hortensius.  At  a  later 
period  he  found  that  something  more  like  an  imperial 
palace  had  become  a  necessity.  Accordingly  he 
bought  some  of  the  adjoining  mansions,  that  of  Catiline 
among  them,  and  built  a  handsome  residence,  declaring, 
however,  at  the  same  time  that  he  considered  it  to 
be  the  property  of  the  Roman  people.  One  of  the  most 
modest  chambers  he  chose  for  his  own,  and  occupied  itfor 
twenty-eight  years.  In  the  third  year  of  our  era,  it  was 
burnt  to  the  ground.  A  public  subscription  was  imme- 
diately set  on  foot  for  the  purpose  of  rebuilding  it. 
A  large  sum  was  collected;  but  Augustus  refused 
to  receive  more  than  a  single  denarius  *  from  each 
subscriber.  A  new  edifice  was  raised  on  the  same 
foundations,  and,  apparently,  on  the  same  plan  as 
the  old,  for  Augustus  occupied  the  same  or  a  cor- 
responding   chamber   for  the  remaining  ten  years  of 

*  About  nine  pence  in  our  money. 


A   CHILD    OF   FOKTUNE.  7 

his  life.  Some  of  the  furniture  of  his  town  and  coun- 
try residences  remained  down  to  the  time  of  his 
biographer  Suetonius,  and  seemed  to  the  costly  tastes  of 
that  generation  scarcely  elegant  enough  for  a  private 
gentleman.  No  masterpieces  of  sculpture  or  paint- 
ing were  to  be  seen  in  his  Roman  palaces  or  his 
country  residences.  If  he  had  any  expensive  taste 
it  was  for  gardening.  And  he  amused  himself  by 
making  collections  of  what  we  should  call  fossils  and 
prehistoric  remains,  but  which  in  his  time  were  de- 
scribed as  "the  huge  limbs  of  monstrous  creatures, 
bones  of  the  Giants  and  arms  of  the  Heroes,  as  they 
are  called. "  He  seldom  used  any  article  of  dress  that 
had  not  been  woven  by  the  women  of  his  own  family. 

But  he  lavished  upon  the  city  the  wealth  that  ho 
would  not  spend  upon  himself.  "  I  found  it  of  brick 
and  left  it  of  marble, "  was  his  well  known  boast, 
and,  as  a  whole,  it  was  little  more  than  the  truth.  At 
the  same  time  he  did  his  best  to  protect  it  from  the 
dangers  of  fire  and  flood.  Against  the  first  he  insti- 
tuted a  regular  corps  of  watchmen;  the  second  he 
at  least  diminished  by  enlarging  the  bed  and  cleansing 
the  channel  of  the  Tiber. 

To  the  populace  of  Rome,  already  largely  depen- 
dant upon  the  public  or  private  bounty,  he  was  most 
generous  in  his  gifts.  Besides  a  monthly  distribution 
of  cheap  corn  he  gave  frequent  presents  of  money.  These 
ranged  from  ^i  to  ^2.  10s.  of  our  money,  being  prob- 


8  A    CHILD    OF    FORTUNE. 

ably  more  than  equivalent  to  these  sums  in  purchasing 
power.  All  male  children  participated  in  them,  though 
it  had  never  before  been  the  custom  to  reckon  any 
younger  than  eleven.  Still  there  was  a  limit  to  his 
good-nature.  When  on  one  occasion  loud  complaints 
were  made  in  his  presence  of  the  high  price  of  wine, 
he  pointed  to  the  great  aqueduct  which  Agrippahad 
constructed;  and  reminded  the  dissatisfied  that  no 
one  had  need  be  thirsty  in  Home. 

Cheap  bread  and  plenty  of  amusement  were,  as 
has  been  often  said,  the  two  great  wants  of  Rome. 
Augustus  was  as  careful  to  provide  for  the  second 
as  for  the  first.  Never  before  had  the  public 
shows  been  so  numerous,  so  varied,  or  so  splendid. 
One  of  the  most  memorable  of  these  exhibitions  was 
that  of  a  sea-fight,  which  took  place  in  an  excava- 
tion made  near  the  Tiber.  So  popular  was  this 
show  that  the  city  was  almost  emptied  of  its 
inhabitants,  and  had  to  be  guarded  by  soldiers.  Any 
curiosity  that  might  be  brought  to  Rome,  he  had 
exhibited  in  some  convenient  place.  We  hear  of  a 
serpent  of  seventy-five  feet  in  length  that  was  thus 
shown  in  the  Forum. 

While  he  thus  indulged  his  subjects,  he  tried  to 
bring  them  back  to  what  he  held  to  be  the  better 
and  simpler  habits  of  former  times.  He  was  earnest 
to  reform  the  public  morals,  but  probably  found  the 
task  beyond  his  powers;  nor  is  it  possible  to  forget 


A   CHILD   OF  FORTUNE.  9 

that  he  might  have  been  more  successful,  if  liis  own 
private  life  had  been  less  open  to  reproach.  He 
passed  laws  of  great  severity,  but  had  to  relax  them, 
or  to  allow  them  to  fall  into  disuse. 

The  external  observances  of  religion  were  more  easily 
enforced.  The  temples  were  rebuilt,  and  the  ceremonials 
of  worship  regularly  performed.  Another  matter  on 
which  the  Emperor's  heart  was  set  was  to  bring 
back  the  use  of  the  old  Roman  dress,  the  toga. 
"  What !  "  he  is  said  to  have  exclaimed,  seeing  a 
crowd  of  men  wearing  cloaks.  "  Are  these  'Romans, 
the  lords  of  earth,  a  Nation  of  the  gown'?"  He 
issued  an  edict  that  no  one  should  be  allowed  in  the 
Forum  or  the  Circus  except  wearing  the  toga. 

If  he  had  won  power  by  crime  -  and  of  this  he  cannot 
be  wholly  acquitted— yet  he  certainly  strove  to  use  it 
well.  He  was  singularly  patient  of  adverse  comment, 
when  once  he  had  seated  himself  firmly  on  the 
throne.  Nor  did  he  resent  the  admiration  which  some 
still  felt  for  the  great  men  of  a  regime  which  he 
had  finally  destroyed.  We  are  told  that  he  found 
one  of  his  grandsons  reading  a  book,  which  the  lad 
sought  to  hide  in  his  robe.  He  took  the  volume,  and 
found  it  to  be  one  of  the  treatises  of  Cicero.  He 
returned  it  with  the  words  "He  was  a  good  man, 
and  a  lover  of  his  country."  He  must  have  remem- 
bered with  regret  his  own  baseness  in  surrendering 
the  great  orator  and  patriot  to  the  vengeance  of  Antony. 


F 


n. 

MAECENAS  AND  HIS  FRIENDS. 

J, OR  fifteen  years  at  least,  that  is  from  before  the 
Battle  of  Actium  down  to  the  year  16  B.  C. 
C.  Cilnius  Maecenas  was  the  most  powerful  man  in 
Rome  after  Augustus.  Perhaps  we  ought  to  except 
Agrippa,  especially  after  his  marriage  with  the 
Emperor's  daughter  Julia.  But  even  then  and  indeed 
up  to  the  time  when  he  lost  his  master's  favour, 
Maecenas  was  "  the  man  behind  the  throne. "  Indeed 
he  occupied  a  position  that  may  be  said  to  have 
been  peculiar  to  the  new  regime,  and  that  marked 
the  change  from  liberty  (such  as  it  was  in  the  latter 
days  of  the  Republic)  to  despotism.  For  Maecenas 
held  no  office.  To  borrow  a  word  from  modern  his- 
tory he  was  "  Vice-Emperor, "  but  the  function  which 
he  discharged  cannot  be  described  by  any  one  word. 
He  was  never  Consul,  Praetor,  or  even  Tribune.  Nor 
was   he    Prefect    of   the    city,  an  office  that  had  its 


MAECENAS    AND   HIS   FRIENDS.  11 

beginning  in  Imperial  days.  He  never  even  sat  in 
the  Senate.  At  the  very  height  of  his  honour  he 
firmly  refused  to  be  raised  out  of  the  Equestrian 
rank  into  which  he  had  been  born.  "Dear  Knight 
Maecenas "  his  friend  Horace  calls  him.  It  was  his 
pride,  and  a  very  prudent  pride  it  doubtless  was,  to 
be  content  with  this  dignity.  And  yet  it  is  difficult 
to  say  what  was  the  limit  of  his  power  when  it 
was  at  its  highest.  Both  foreign  affairs  and  domestic 
came  within  it.  And  this  position  was,  as  has  been 
said,  characteristic  of  the  Imperial  regime.  The  Ro- 
mans had  two  words  for  power,  yotestas  and  potentia. 
The  first  means  the  power  of  constitutional  authority. 
The  magistrates  of  the  Republic  exercised  it;  even 
when,  as  in  the  case  of  a  Dictator,  it  became  abso- 
lute and  uncontrolled,  it  still  had  this  character. 
And,  nominally  at  least,  tliis  constitutional  power  was 
continued  under  the  Empire.  Augustus  and  his  suc- 
cessors ruled  under  the  old  names.  They  were  chiefs 
of  the  Senate,  commanders-in-chief,  perpetual  trib- 
unes, and  whenever  they  chose  to  assume  the  office. 
Consuls.  But  underneath  this  show  of  legality  there 
grew  up  an  illegal,  irregular  power,  which  was 
described  by  the  word  potentia.  This  was  what 
Maecenas  exercised.  He  had  absolutely  no  position 
in  the  country ;  but  he  had  the  Emperor's  ear. 
We  are  not,  however,  primarily  concerned  in  this 

chapter   with  the  political  significance  of  Maecenas's 
2 


12  MAECENAS    AND    HIS    FRIENDS. 

position.  But  I  may  point  out  how  admirably  suited  it 
was  to  the  function  in  which  he  chiefly  interests  us,  the 
part  of  literary  patron.  The  patronage  of  a  dignified 
official  can  scarcely  fail  to  be  burdensome  to  those 
who  receive  it.  It  can  hardly  coexist  with  the  unselfish 
intimacy  of  friendship.  These  difficulties  Maecenas,  by 
his  judicious  refusal  of  all  the  paraphernalia  of  power, 
contrived  to  avoid.  No  one  questioned  his  right  to  cul- 
tivate such  intimacies  as  he  chose.  He  infringed 
by  them  no  dignity ;  he  compromised  no  position.  But  all 
the  revenues  of  the  State  were  at  his  disposal.  The  Em- 
peror actually  entrusted  him  with  his  private  seal,  a 
confidence  that  is  only  inadequately  represented  by 
giving  a  blank  cheque.  He  could  do  as  he  pleased, 
and  he  could  do  it  without  responsibility.  Such  a 
position,  joined  to  liberality,  a  frank  and  generous 
temper,  and  cultivated  tastes  made  the  very  ideal  of 
a  literary  patron. 

A  brief  description  of  the  man  himself  and  of  his 
ways  and  life  will  not  be  out  of  place.  The  qualities  of 
a  soldier  he  probably  did  not  possess,  or,  only  in  a  mod- 
erate degree.  Probably,  it  might  be  better  to  say, 
possibly,  he  accompanied  Augustus  on  one  or  more 
of  his  campaigns,  but  he  certainly  never  held  an 
independcHt  command.  But  as  a  statesman  and  a 
diplomatist  he  was  consummately  skilful.  More  than 
once  he  played  with  supreme  tact  the  part  of  a 
mediator   between    Augustus    and    Antony,    the  two 


MAECENAS   AND   HIS    FRIENDS.  13 

masters  of  the  Roman  world.  His  bonhomie,  his  mod- 
eration, his  even  temper  made  him  an  unrivalled  medi- 
ator in  such  difficult  conjunctures.  Called  in  to  act 
in  the  differences  of  less  important  persons,  "  accustom- 
ed "  as  Horace  puts  it  **  to  reconcile  private  friends, " 
he  brought  to  the  task  of  appeasing  the  jealousies, 
of  soothing  the  susceptibilities,  of  the  mighty  mas- 
ters of  legions  an  unrivalled  aptitude  for  the  office 
of  peace-maker.  His  work  as  a  statesman  we  are  less 
able  to  appreciate,  but  simply  for  want  of  informa- 
tion. Indeed  the  merits  and  the  demerits  of  the  unrec- 
ognized advisers  of  the  powerful  must  always 
remain  in  great  obscurity.  But  that  he  was  a  moderat- 
ing influence  cannot  be  doubted. 

One  story  remains  that  is  highly  to  his  credit.  On 
one  occasion  Augustus,  carried  away,  as  even  prudent 
rulers  will  sometimes  be,  by  personal  animosities, 
was  passing  sentences  of  death  with  unusual 
frequency — being  on  the  whole  a  clement  prince. 
His  minister,  unable  to  approach  the  judgment  seat, 
or  perhaps  unwilling  to  make  any  parade  of  inter- 
ference, tossed  into  his  lap  a  billet  with  the  words 
"Surge,  Carnifex!"   "Rise,  butcher!" 

The  private  tastes  of  Maecenas  were  those  of  the 
highly  artificial  age  in  which  he  lived.  He  built 
for  himself  a  great  mansion  in  a  central  position  in 
Rome.  The  place  which  he  chose  had  been  a  squalid 
and    neglected    cemetery    for    slaves    and    paupers; 


14  '  MAECENAS    AND    HIS    FRIENDS. 

hideous,  we  are  told,  to  look  at,  and  dangerous  to 
health.  He  covered  it  to  the  depth  of  thirty  feet 
with  pure  earth,  and  converted  it  into  a  beautiful 
garden  in  the  midst  of  which  he  erected  his  villa. 
The  most  conspicuous  feature  was  a  lofty  tower,  from 
which  he  could  command  a  view  of  the  whole  city. 
Time  has  spared  one  room  of  this  magnificent  resi- 
dence. At  first  it  was  supposed  that  this  was  a 
chamber  set  apart  for  readings  and  recitations,  and 
it  was  said  that  in  this  very  place  the  patron  had 
listened  to  a  first  reading  of  Horace's  lyrics,  or 
Virgil's  epic.  This  theory  had  to  be  abandoned.  What 
had  been  thought  to  be  seats  round  the  walls  were 
found  to  be  stands  for  plants.  The  chamber  in  fact 
was  not  a  hall  but  a  greenhouse.  Beyond  a  greenhouse 
indeed  Maecenas's  love  of  nature  did  not  go.  While 
Horace  was  enjoying  the  mountain  air  of  his  Sabine 
farm,  the  patron  could  not  tear  himself  away  from 
the  "smoke  and  roar"  of  Rome.  His  personal  habits 
were  luxurious.  Some  of  the  peculiarities  which  his 
contemporaries  regarded  with  disfavour  have  little 
significance  for  us,  as  that  he  allowed  his  tunic  to 
hang  about  his  knees  like  a  woman's  petticoat,  and 
that  he  would  cover  his  head  with  his  cloak,  when 
he  sat  on  the  tribunal.  These,  it  would  appear, 
were  marks  of  effeminacy.  He  had  a  passion  for 
collecting  gems  and  other  jewels,  and  wore  these 
ornaments  in  a  profusion  that  seemed  undignified  to 


MAECENAS    AND    HIS    FRIENDS.  15 

sterner  tastes.  His  love  for  costly  perfumes  was  notori- 
ous. The  Emperor  himself  condescended  to  satirize 
his  Minister's  "  unguent-dropping  curls."  He  was  said 
to  have  been  the  first  who  used  a  warm  swimming 
bath,  and  the  invention  was  not  put  down  to  his 
credit.  He  had  a  great  liking  for  the  ballet  and  the 
pantomime,  amusements  which  he  recommended  to  his 
master  as  means  of  reconciling  Rome  to  the  loss  of 
its  liberty.  He  was  at  least  for  the  latter  part  of 
his  life  an  invalid  with  a  strong  tendency  to  hypo- 
chondria. In  his  last  days  he  was  tormented  with 
sleeplessness,  and  deserted  his  favourite  city  mansion 
for  a  villa  at  Tibur  where  he  could  be  lulled  to 
repose  by  the  distant  sound  of  the  falls  of  the  Anio. 
His  sufferings  did  not  prevent  him  from  clinging  even 
passionately  to  life.  One  of  the  few  fragments 
which  survive  of  his  writings — for  he  was  a  voluminous 
author  —  expresses  this  feeling  with  an  undignified 
frankness: 

"  Cripple  hand  and  foot,  and  nako 
Back  to  swell,  and  teeth  to  shake; 
All  that  happens  I  can  bear, 
If  my  life  alone  you  spare. 
Not  the  cross  itself  can  give 
Pain  past  bearing,  if  I  live." 

Of  Maecenas    in    his    domestic   relations  there  is 
little  to    be    said    that    is    to  his   credit.     He  had  a 


16  MAECENAS    AND    HIS    FRIENDS. 

wife  of  remarkable  beauty,  and  passed  his  married 
life  in  perpetual  quarrels  and  reconciliations.  "He 
had  one  wife,  but  married  her  a  thousand  times," 
is  Seneca's  sarcastic  account  of  his  relation  to 
Terentia.  If  there  had  been  nothing  worse  in  him  than 
this  foolish  fondness,  he  might  have  been  excused ; 
but  he  was  not  constant ;  a  bad  example  which  his 
wife  followed.  It  was  through  her  indeed  that  he 
lost  his  position  at  court. 

Of  his  relation  to  literature  and  literary  men,  we 
can  speak  with  unmixed  praise.  His  patronage  was 
generous,  and  it  was  distributed  with  taste.  The 
Emperor  indeed  ridiculed  the  crowd  of  guests  that 
he  gathered  round  his  table  ;  and  doubtless  there  were 
some  among  them  who  had  no  genuine  literary  claims 
to  his  favour ;  but  his  friendship  he  Reserved  for 
men  of  real  genius.  In  the  inner  circle  of  authors 
who  shared  his  intimacy  there  was  not  one  unworthy 
name,  and  not  a  few  that  were  conspicuously 
great.  Virgil  probably  owed  his  rescue  from  want,  which 
threatened  him  when  his  patrimony  had  been  handed 
over  to  one  of  the  victorious  soldiers  of  Augustus,  *  to 
some  other  benefactor  than  Maecenas.  It  was  Pollio 
who  gave  him  back  his  farm,  and  Gallus,  who  prob- 
ably interfered  on  his  behalf  when  it  had  been  again 
seized.  But  the  Georgics  are  dedicated  to  Maecenas.  He 
is  credited  with  having  suggested  the  subject.  The 
*  At  that  time  still  known  as  Octavius. 


MAECENAS    AND    HIS    FEIENDS.  17 

composition  of  this  poem  is  probably  to  be  placed 
between  the  years  86  B.  C.  and  26  B.  C.  Some  time 
before  this  we  find  the  poet  on  terms  of  intimacy 
with  his  patron,  accompanying  him  on  a  journey  which 
he  was  taking  on  state  business.  We  know  little  of  the 
after  relations  of  the  two,  but  there  is  every  reason 
to  suppose  that  they  continued  perfectly  friendly 
up  to  the  time  of  Virgil's  death  in  19  B.  C. 

The  poet  had  his  town  house  on  the  Aquiline,  and 
so  was  the  near  neighbour  of  his  patron.  We  may 
guess  that  it  was  Maecenas  who  introduced  him  to 
the  Palace  where  he  recited  before  the  Emperor  and 
his  sister  Octavia  his  splendid  elegy  on  Marcellus, 
in  whom  the  Emperor  had  lost  a  successor  and 
Octavia  an  only  son. 

Another  member  of  the  circle  tolls  us  much  more 
about  it.  Horace,  the  son  of  a  poor  man,  but  educated 
with  a  care  out  of  proportion  to  his  humble  birth,  had 
caught  the  republican  enthusiasm  whilst  a  student 
at  Athens,  and  had  fought,  or  at  least  appeared 
in  armour,  on  the  fatal  field  of  Philippi.  He  came 
back  to  Rome,  and  contrived  to  purchase  a  clerk- 
ship in  the  quaestor's  office,  an  establishment  that 
had  something  to  do  with  the  public  revenue.  He 
began  to  write  verses — probably  some  of  the 
Epodes  are  to  be  attributed  to  this  period— and  the 
verses  got  into  hands  that  were  capable  of  judging 
of   their    merit.     Virgil    mentioned  the  young  poet's 


18  MAECENAS   AND    HIS  FKIENDS. 

name  to  Maecenas,  and  Varius,  another  poet  whose  work, 
highly  esteemed  by  his  contemporaries,  has  almost 
wholly  perished,  seconded  the  recommendation.  The 
great  man  sent  for  him.  He  presented  himself, 
and  managed  to  stammer  out  an  account  of  himself 
and  his  circumstances.  Maecenas  made  a  brief  reply. 
Months  passed  without  any  further  communication  ; 
then  came  an  invitation.  Horace  passed  at  once  into 
the  circle  of  the  Minister's  intimate  friends.  Thus 
began  an  affectionate  intimacy,  which  was  never 
interrupted.  Horace  invites  his  august  friend  to  his 
Sabine  farm,  itself  a  present  from  his  patron,  but 
tells  him  that  if  he  wants  a  rare  vintage  and  costly 
perfumes  he  must  bring  them  himself.  He  gently 
satirizes  his  partiality  for  the  artificial  life  of  the  city. 
He  rallies  him  on  the  uncertain  temper  of  his 
wife.  He  even  remonstrates  with  him  on  his  valetudi- 
narian complaints  and  fears.  Nor  is  any  of  the  poems 
addressed  to  him  more  affection9.te  than  the  birthday 
congratulations,  written  when  the  patron  had  ceased 
to  be  powerful,  and  so  had  nothing  more  to  give ; 
and  the  end  of  this  friendship  was  in  pathetic 
harmony  with  its  course.  Years  before  Horace  had 
sung: 

"Fate  keeps  for  both  one  fatal  day; 
I  keep  a  loyal  oath,  nor  stay 
When  thou  shalt  go,  prepared  to  tread 
With  thee  the  pathAvay  of  the  dead." 


MAECENAS   AND   HIS  FRIENDS.  19 

Eaily  in  B.  C.  8  Maecenas  died,  saying  to  the 
Emperor  with  almost  his  latest  breath  "  Remember 
Horace  as  you  remember  me."  Augustus  gave  the 
promise  but  was  never  called  on  to  fulfil  it.  Six 
months  afterwards  the  poet  followed  his  patron  to 
the  grave. 

A  third  poet  has  also  contributed  something  to 
the  fame  of  Maecenas.  This  was  Sextus  Propertius,  a 
native  of  Assisium  in  Umbria,  a  town  that,  under  its 
modern  name  of  Assisi,  is  celebrated  as  the  birthplace 
of  St.  Francis.  He  too  had  sufl^red  from  the 
confiscation  which  had  followed  the  civil  wars,  had 
come  to  Rome  to  follow  the  profession  of  the  law, 
and  had  found  verse-writing  more  attractive  than 
the  courts.  Of  his  introduction  to  Maecenas,  we 
know  nothing.  The  great  man's  name  is  prefixed 
to  the  first  elegy  in  the  second  book,  the  poem  is 
a  defence  of  the  author's  devotion  to  love-poetry, 
and  of  his  refusal  to  engage  on  more  serious  themes. 
The  date  of  this  poem  is  probably  about  28  B.  C. 
Another  piece  with  the  same  dedication  is,  it  may 
be  conjectured,  about  five  years  later.  Neither  of 
them  says  much  of  the  relations  between  the  writer 
and  his  patron,  though  the  tone  seems  to  indicate 
a  certain  amount  of  intimacy.  Propertius,  like  Virgil, 
had  a  house  in  the  Aquiline.  That  he  was  well 
acquainted  with  the  author  of  the  Aeneid,  and  had 
had    a    private    sight  or  hearing  of  the  great  poem, 


20  MAECENAS   AND  HIS   FRIENDS. 

we  can  guess  from  a  reference  to  it  in  one  of  his 
elegies ;  "  Something  greater  than  the  Iliad  is  in 
process  of  writing, "  he  says. '  We  are  sorry  to  think 
that  with  Horace  his  relations  were  not  so  friendly. 
Propertius  has  no  compliments  for  his  lyric  brother  ; 
Horace,  there  can  be  little  doubt,  satirizes  the  style 
and  the  pretensions  of  the  elegist.  * 

Some  of  Maecenas's  literary  friends  are  little  more 
than  names  to  us,  Yarius  and  Tucea  for  instance,  Virgil's 
literary  executors,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Aeneid;  which  its  author  directed 
to  be  destroyed,  nor  has  any  record  been  preserved  of 
the  life  which  they  shared.  What  would  we  not  give  for 
a  single  volume  of  "  Reminiscences "  such  as  are  no^v 
showered  upon  us  in  almost  overwhelming  profusion 
from  the  press !  We  must  be  content  with  knowing 
that  the  liberality,  the  good  taste,  and  the  tact  of 
Maecenas  made  his  name  proverbial  as  the  model 
of  the  patrons  of  literature ;  and  the  patron,  we  must 
remember,  was  a  necessity  till  the  public  came  into 
existence.  Even  now,  when  the  production  of  monu- 
mental works  for  which  no  remunerative  sale  can  be 
expected  is  concerned,  his  function  is  not  altogether 

*  The  arguments  on  which  this  opinion  is  founded  are  set 
forth  by  Professor  Postgate  in  his  edition  of  "  Select  Elegies  of 
Propertius"  (Macmillan  &  Co.)  The  satirical  reference  is  to  bo 
found  in  2  Epistles,  37  and  99.  It  has  been  thought  that  the 
"  bore  "  described  of  1  Sat.  IX  is  Propertius. 


MAECENAS   AND   HIS   FEIENDS.  21 

suspended.  This  chapter  may  be  fitly  concluded  with 
a  few  lines  from  Martial: 

"You  ask  me  why,  though  Rome  hos  grown 
Nobler  beneath  a  nobler  sway, 
Though  glories  of  the  older  day 
Pale  by  the  lustre  of  our  own; 

You  ask  me  why  no  voice  inspired 
Still  sings  as  Virgil  sang  of  yore 
Why  wars  that  touch  earth's  furthest  shore 

No  bard  to  fitting  praise  have  fired: 

My  Flacius,  hear  a  bard's  reply: 

A  new  Maecenas  must  be  found; 

Give  us  but  this,  and  barren  ground 
A  crop  of  Virgils  will  supply." 


in. 

A  DAY  WITH  HORACE, 

FROM  Theotimus  of  Athens,  to  Meton,  the 
Philosopher,  at  his  house,  in  the  Garden  of 
Aeademus. 

Written  from  Rome,  in  the  third  year  of  the  one 
hundred  and  eighty  third  Olympiad.  * 

Many  thanks,  most  venerable  and  dear  Meton,  for 
the  letters  of  commendation,  especially  for  that  which 
bore  the  superscription  of  Quintus  Horatius  Flaccus. 
I  chanced  to  find  him  at  home,  and  though  he  was 
busy  (I  saw  a  parchment,  on  which  a  slave  had  been 
writing  from  his  dictation),  he  welcomed  me  most 
warmly,  and  constrained  me  to  take  up  my  abode 
in  his  house. 

That  first  day,  we  talked  of  men  and  things  in 
Athens,  till  the  third  watch  of  the  night  was  nearly 
spent.**     Never    was    any    one   more   simple,   more 

*  This  would  be,  B.  C.  22. 
**  That  is  iill  between  two  and  three  o'clock,  in  the  mornini'. 


A   DAY   WITH   HORACE.  23 

candid,  more  gay.  You  will  remember,  that  you 
warned  me  not  to  speak  of  his  doings  as  a  soldier, 
yet  by  some  inconceivable  awkwardness — for  which, 
when  the  word  was  uttered,  I  could  have  bitten  off 
my  tongue, — I  stumbled  upon  that  very  subject. 
Yet  I  need  not  have  troubled  myself:  he  certainly 
was  not  disturbed. 

"  Ah "  said  he,  *  I  should  have  done  well  to  have 
listened  to  the  wise  Meton.  I  was  a  foolish  lad  of 
twenty,  and  they  offered  me  a  Tribune's  commission — 
surely  they  must  have  been  in  sore  need  of  officers, 
if  they  could  not  make  a  better  choice. 

"Well,  I  went  to  our  dear  friend.  *What  madness! ' 
he  cried.  *You  have,  for  your  years,  a  fair  smattering 
of  philosophy  and  a  very  pretty  talent  for  writing 
verses,  but  as  for  being  a  leader  of  soldiers — 'tis 
the  veriest  folly.  And  are  you  sure,*  he  went  on, 
'that  you  are  on  the  right  side?  I  take  it,  that 
your  friends  did  a  bad  day's  work  when  they  killed 
your  Caesar.  Depend  upon  it,  you  will  go  farther 
and  fare  worse,  if  your  friend  Brutus,  who  really 
thinks  of  nothing  but  himself,  and  Cassius  who  is  a 
pedant,  not  a  statesman,  get  the  upper  hand.  But, 
if  you  will  go,  go  as  a  private  soldier,  and  risk  no 
life  but  your  own.' 

"Well,  I  did  what  other  people  do,  who  ask  for 
advice ;  I  took  my  own  way,  and  into  a  pretty  slough 
it  led  me.     As  for  soldierino:,  I  knew  no  more  about 


24  A   DAY   WITH    HORACE. 

it  than  a  babe.  Happily  I  had  two  dry  nurses,  in 
the  shape  of  two  veteran  centurions,  and  I  had  no 
chance  of  making  any  bad  blunder.  Indeed  the  whole 
business  lasted  only  a  few  months  and  my  first  battle 
was  my  last. 

"Did  I  run  away?  you  are  too  polite  to  ask  me, 
but  you  would  like  to  know.  Well,  I  did,  and  I  did 
not.  I  stopped  where  I  was,  till  it  was  practically 
all  over,  and  when  my  betters  ran,  I  followed  them. 
As  for  my  shield — well,  your  own  Alcaeus  lost  his 
shield,  and  he  was  as  good  a  fighting  man,  according 
to  all  accounts,  as  he  was  a  poet.  * 

"  But  to  tell  the  truth,  I  had  a  motive  in  talking 
as  I  did  about  my  share  in  the  battle.  You  see,  1 
had  to  make  friends  with  the  conqueror,  and  what 
was  the  good  of  making  out  that  I  had  fought 
desperately  to  the  last?  That  would  have  been  no 
recommendation.  So  I  rather  laughed  at  myself,  and 
if  other  people  laugh  at  me,  well.  I  can  shrug  my 
shoulders  and  bear  it.  I  shall  not  be  unhappy  if 
they  think  I  am  a  poor  soldier,  if  they  will  allow 
that  I  am  something  of  a  poet." 

But  certainly  if  I  try  to  write  down  even  a  tenth 
of  what  this  most  delightful  of  talkers  said  to  me, 
I  shall  more  than  fill  my  letter,    and  you  asked  me 

"  The  Lesbian  poet  Alcaeus,  in  a  battle  between  his  countrj'-- 
mcn  and  the  Athenians,  lost  his  arms,  which  the  conqueror 
hung  up,  in  the  temple  of  Athens  at  Sigeum. 


A    DAY   WITH    HORACE.  25 

to  describe  one  of  my  days  at  Rome.  To  that  there- 
fore let  me  turn  without  further  delay. 

Five  days  after  my  arrival,  my  host  said  to  me. 
"  You  can  rise  early,  is  it  not  so  ? "  and  when  I 
assented,  he  went  on.  "  We  will  go  to-morrow,  and 
salute  my  dear  friend  Maecenas.  At  sunrise  then, 
we  will  start. "  I  suppose  that  I  looked  somewhat 
surprised,  for  he  said,  "  We  set  about  our  business 
betimes  at  Rome,  and  as  for  Maecenas,  we  cannot 
be  too  early;  he  sleeps  so  ill,  that  he  cannot  rise 
too   soon,    and  he  likes  his  callers  to  do  the  same." 

At  the  appointed  hour  we  went.  It  was  a  house 
of  the  most  magnificent  proportions,  with  the  very 
liighest  tower  in  all  Rome  surmounting  it,  and  within, 
it  was  furnished  with  a  splendour  to  which,  there  is, 
I  am  told,  nothing  equal.  As  for  the  Emperor,  he 
lives  very  simply.  The  great  man  himself,  I  must 
own,  did  not  impress  me  very  favourably.  To  speak 
plainly,  he  was  too  much  of  a  fop ;  the  scent  of  the 
unguents  with  which  he  was,  so  to  speak,  drenched, 
almost  overpowered  me,  and  I  could  barely  see  his 
fingers,  for  the  rings  with  which  they  were  covered. 
His  face  was  pale;  his  eyes  sunken  and  weary,  yet 
it  was  good  to  note  how  he  lighted  up  at  the  sight 
of  the  poet. 

**  You  have  brought  something  for  me,  I  hope, " 
he  said,  and  when  my  host  shook  his  head.  "  Nay, 
but  this  is  intolerable.  There  are,   at  Icnst,   "  twenty 


26  A   DAY   WITH   HORACE. 

poets  there,"  and  he  pointed  to  the  crowd  of  callers, 
who  half  filled  the  hall,  "  and  every  one  has  his 
pocket  full  of  bad  verses,  and  you,  who  really  can 
write,  are  as  idle  as  a  sea-calf." 

Then  he  greeted  me  most  politely,  and  beckoned 
to  us,  to  sit  beside  him. 

But  how  shall  I  describe  what  I  saw  and  heard 
that  morning?  Maecenas,  you  know,  has  the  ear  of 
the  emperor,  and  every  one  who  wants  anything,  a 
clerkship,  a  commission  in  the  army,  a  pension,  a 
word  to  one  of  the  judges,  a  lease  of  land,  a  free 
pass  for  travelling  abroad,  comes  to  him,  to  make 
his  request.  He  had  too  a  number  of  visitors  of 
his  own. 

His  liberality  to  men  of  letters,  is  beyond  belief. 
Instead  of  twenty,  he  might  have  said  fifty  poets. 
One  man  brought  an  Epic.  It  was  as  much  as  he 
could  hold  in  his  hand.  "  It  is  twice  as  long  as  the 
Iliad,"  said  the  great  man,  without  changing  a  muscle 
on  his  face,  and  the  silly  creature  thought  he  was 
serious. 

"He  pays  them  all/  whispered  my  host  to  me, 
and  of  course  they  go  on  writing.  He  has  positively 
raised  the  price  of  parchment  in  Rome,  but  'tis  a 
fault  on  the  right  side,  and  I  who  have  profited  by 
it,  should  be  the  last  to  blame."  And  as  he  said 
this,  I*  saw  the  tears  in  his  eyes.  Horace  has  the 
tendcrest    and    most    grateful    heart    in    the    world. 


A   DAY    WITH   HORACE.  27 


Well  the  stream  went  on  for  two  hours,  and  miaht 
going 


have  been  going  on  now,  if  the  door  had  not  been 
shut. 

Maecenas  would  have  us  stop,  and  share  his  morning 
meal.  "Share"  I  say,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
great  man  took  nothing,  but  a  draught  of  wine  cooled 
with  snow,  and  my  host  but  a  little  salad  and  some 
water.  (You  must  understand,  that  he  praises  wine, 
but  for  the  most  part  drinks  water.)  As  for  myself, 
I  relished  an  omelette  and  some  broiled  fish,  for  I 
cannot  bring  my  stomach  to  their  Roman  fashion  of 
fasting  till  mid-day. 

The  meal  ^verj^  we_  went_to  the  _Sj2nateJIous0, 
\    where  a  great  cause  was  being  tried. 

"  Ah!  "  said  the  great  man  as  we  bade  him  farewell. 
*  Every  day,  I  thank  the  Gods  that  I  am  but  a  simple 
knight.  If  I  had  to  go  to  the  Senate,  and  hear  the 
trial  of  Fabius,  life  would  not  be  worth  having." 

To  me,  indeed,  as  as  tranger,  the  thing  was  interest- 
ing enough.  Fabius  had  been  governor  of  a  province, 
and  was  on  his  trial  for  extortion.  We  heard  the 
peroration  of  the  prosecutor  and  the  examination  of 
three  or  four  witnesses.  What  a  story  it  was  that  they 
told!  If  only  a  quarter  were  true,  Fabius  must  have 
been  the  most  scandalous  thief  since  Sisyphus.  One 
old  man,  a  temple-servant,  told  the  Senate  how  the 
governor  scraped  the  gold  from  off  the  gates,  in  fact 
laid    his   hands    on    every    thing   that  had  the  least 


^T 


1^. 


28  A   DAY   WITH   HORACE. 

value.  He  described  how  the  priest  had  hidden  n 
gold  shield,  an  offering  they  said,  by  Alexander  of 
Macedon,  and  how  Fabius  had  heard  of  it.  "  He 
tortured  me  to  make  me  tell  him  the  secret  **  said 
the  man,  and  held  up  his  hands,  which  were  twisted 
out  of  all  shape. 

The  judges,  who  had  seemed  very  careless  till 
then,  were  visibly  moved :  and  the  Emperor,  who,  I 
should  have  said,  was^^residing,  a  singularly  hand- 
some man  of  about  forty,  flushed  with  anger. 

Fabius  himself  sat  as  haughty  and  indifferent  as 
though  he  had  no  concern  in  the  matter.  "It  will 
go  hard  with  him,  "  said  my  host,  as  we  came  out. 
"  Fabius  seems  to  have  thought  he  was  living  under 
the  Republic,  w^hen  those  things  were  winked  at,  but 
the  Emperor  has  different  ways.  He  is  not  going 
to  sacrifice  his  provinces  that  the  nobles  may  dine  off 
gold  plate.  Yes,  it  will  want  all,  and  more  than  all 
Pollio's  eloquence,  to  get  off  his  client.  ' 

From  the  Senate-house  we  went  home,  to  the  mid- 
day meal.  Horatius  ate  nothing  but  vegetables,  drink- 
ing a  little  wine,  very  much  diluted,  but  his  cook 
had  procured  a  piece  of  roast  kid  for  me. 

After  the  meal  came  a  short  siesta,  and  then  we 
went  to  what  seems  a  common  entertainment  at 
Ronie,  a  literary  reading.  A  young  author  was  to 
recite  some  of  his  poems  to  a  circle  of  friends. 
Horatius   was  one  of  those  invited,  he  does  not  like 


A   DAY   WITH  HORACE.  29 

these  things,  but  he  went  nevertheless,  for  he  is 
good  nature  itself.  It  was  but  a  poor  business.  The 
audience  was  not  large  at  the  beginning,  and  it  grew 
smaller  and  smaller,  till  at  last  there  were  but  a 
score  left. 

"Poor  fellow,"  said  my  host,  "  I  am  afraid  this^ 
will  cost  him  more  than  he  will  get.  You  see  the 
room  was  lent,  but  he  had  to  pay  for  the  benches 
and  other  matters,  and  I  suspect  had  to  hire  the 
very  fine  rings  which  he  wore  on  his  fingers.  It  is 
the  etiquette  for  a  reader  to  make  himself  very  fine ; 
why  I  know  not,  for  the  race  are  notoriously  poor. " 

After  the  reading,  a  stroll  Jto  the  Field  of  Mars, 
the  Iioman  playground,,  was  welcome.  The  sports 
were  very  clumsy;  nothing  could  be  more  barbarous  yt 
than  the  bits  which  the  riders  use,  great  jagged  things 
which  must  tear  the  horse's  mouth  to  pieces.  The 
Romans  are  not  particularly  fleet  of  foot,  nor  agile 
jumpers,  but  their  swimming  is  marvellously  good. 
I  saw  young  lads  cross  the  Tiber  which  was  running 
high,    and  pass,  three  or  four  times  without  resting. 

It  was  a  gay  and  brilliant  scene.     You  must  know 
that  the   ladies  who  are  allowed,  or  take,    a  liberty      ■ 
which  would  seem  strange  to  us,  come  to  the  Field, 
and  look  on. 

After  the  sports  came  dinner,  a  gorgeous  enter- 
tainment, to  which  with  my  whetted  appetite,  I  did 
justice. 


i 


30  A  DAY    WITH   HORACE. 

Earth  and  sea  were  ransacked  to  furnish  the  feast. 
There  were  turbots,  fresh  from  the  Black  Sea,  mullets 
caught  in  Charybdis  itself,  oysters  from  Britain,  an 
^\  outlandish  isle  in  the  frozea  sea,  I  am  told,  rare 
birds  from  Africa,  a  wild  boar  from  Gaul,  hares  find 
coneys  and  I  know  not  what  besides  ;  one  thing  I 
remember,  a  peacock,  very  splendid  to  look  at,  but 
as  tough  and  tasteless  a  meat  as  I  ever  ate. 

Our  host  was  a  "nouyeau  riche,"  who  wearied  us 
by  telling  us  the  cost  of  every  dish,  and  every  flagon 
of  wine.  Of  all  tiresome  entertainments,  this  was 
the  worst,  and  I  was  heartily  glad,  when,  somewhere 
about  midnight,  (our  host  and  half  his  guests  being 
no  longer  masters  of  themselves)  to  find  myself  in 
the  open  air  again. 

I  like  our  quiet  Athens  tenfold  better  than  this 
splendid  Rome.  Farewell.  , 


lY. 

THE  DEATH  OF  AUGUSTUS. 

*  TTE  died  a  natural  doatli,"  says  Tacitus  of  some 
XJL  great  noble  in  the   days  of  Tiberius,  and  adds, 

*  a  very  rare  occurrence  in  so  exalted  a  rank."  There 
is  no  reason  for  doubting  that  this  piece  of  good 
fortune  fell  to  the  lot  of  Augustus,  of  him,  indeed, 
alone  among  the  Julian  Caesars.  *  Of  course  rumour 
was  busy  with  stories  of  his  end.  There  was  talk, 
for  instance,  of  a  basket  of  poisoned  figs  which 
Livia,  his  wife,  had  put  in  his  way  ;  but  Livia  had 
lived  with  him  for  forty  years,  and  having  secured 
all  her  objects,  had  no  motive  for  the  crime.  All 
the  circumstances  point  the  other  way.  Augustus 
was  in  his  seventy-eighth  year.  He  was  travelling 
at  an  u/ihealthy  time  of  the  year  (August).     He  had 

*  Here  is  the  gloomy  catalogue  :  Tiberius,  suffocated  on  his 
death-bed;  Caligula,  assassinated;  Claudius,  poisoned  by  his 
wife;  Nero  committed  suicide  to  escape  execution. 


32  THE   DEATH   OF   AUGUSTUS. 

exposed  himself  imprudently  to  the  night- air,  and 
had  contracted  a  dysentery.  And  all  the  other 
particulars  quite  contradict  the  poison  theory.  He 
had  been  ailing  for  some  time,  but  did  not  take  to 
his  bed  till  he  came  to  Nola.  Tiberius,  who  was 
on  his  way  to  the  east  coast  of  the  Adriatic  (Augustus 
had  left  Rome  to  accompany  him)  was  recalled  in 
haste.  The  dying  man  had  a  long  conversation  with 
his  successor,  *  and  then  dismissed  all  the  cares  of 
life,  though  he  asked  again  and  again  in  the  course 
of  his  last  day,  whether  there  were  any  signs  of 
disturbance  (we  shall  see  the  significance  of  this 
hereafter).  Reassured  on  this  point,  he  prepared  for 
his  end.  He  had  his  hair  arranged,  and  his  "  cheeks 
that  were  falling  in  set  right "  (perplexing  words 
which  no  one  has  been  able  to  interpret).  Then  he 
turned  to  his  friends,  "  Have  I  played  my  part  decently 
well  in  this  farce  of  life  ? "  he  asked,  adding  in  a 
low  voice  two  Greek  verses  which  may  be  thus 
Englished  : — 

"All  has  gone  well,  you  say.     Then  clap  your  hands, 
Nor  grudge  the  player  what  his  skill  demands." 

The  room  was  then  cleared,  only  Livia  remaining. 
She    raised    the    dying    man    in  her  arms,  and  with 

*  According  to  one  story,  Tiberius  was  not  in  time  to  find 
the  Emperor  alive,  and  Livia  concealed  the  death  till  it  was 
safe  to  declare  it. 


THE   DEATH    OF   AUGUSTUS.  33 

the  words,  "Remember  how  we  have  lived  together 
in  love.  Farewell!"  he  passed  away.  This  is  a 
peaceful  scene  enough,  but  there  was  a  tragedy 
behind  it. 

I  have  spoken  in  my  first  chapter  of  Augustus  as 
"a  child  of  fortune,"  and  this,  the  last  scene  of 
his  life,  is  apparently  keeping  up  this  character  to 
the  end.  But  there  was  a  dark  side  to  the  brilliant 
picture. 

In  the  first  place,  the  Roman  arms  were  not  uni- 
formly prosperous  during  his  reign.  In  B.  C.  16  Marcus 
Lollius,  who  was  in  command  of  a  corps  (Varmee  on 
the  frontier  of  Gaul  encountered  a  body  of  Germans,  who 
had  crossed  the  Rhine.  Victorious  in  the  first  engage- 
ment, he  met  with  a  severe  defeat  in  the  second, 
losing  the  eagle  of  one  of  his  legions.  The  news  of 
this  disaster  caused  such  alarm  in  Rome  that  the 
Emperor  hurried  to  the  spot.  The  invaders  did  not 
stop  to  meet  him,  but  recrossed  the  river.  That 
there  had  been  more  disgrace  than  damage  was  the 
judgment  passed  on  the  incident  when  the  first  panic 
had  subsided,  and  subsequent  successes  of  the  Imperial 
armies  in  the  same  and  neighbouring  regions  more 
than  compensated  for  what  had  been  lost.  Still  there 
had  been  a  check  to  the  uniformly  prosperous  course 
of  the  great  Emperor's  government. 

Twenty-five  years  afterwards  a  much  more  serious 
disaster     occurred.     The    policy    of    Augustus    had 


34  THE   DEATH    OF    AUGUSTUS. 

not  been,  on  the  whole,  a  policy  of  conquest,  nor 
was  he  ambitious  to  advance  the  border  of  the  Empire. 
But  now  he  made  an  exception.  Drusus,  the  younger 
of  the  two  stepsons  of  the  Emperor,  had  some  time 
before  conquered  the  region  between  the  Rhine  and 
the  Weser,  and  it  seemed  expedient  to  convert  this 
into  a  regular  Roman  province.  He  appointed  as  its 
first  governor  one  Quintilius  Varus. 

The  choice  was  not  a  happy  one.  Varus's  expe- 
rience of  administration  had  been  gained  in  Syria, 
and  he  committed  the  mistake  of  supposing  that  the 
methods  successful  with  a  people  subdued  by  cen- 
turies of  slavery  would  be  suitable  to  a  brave  and 
spirited  race  which  had  only  just  lost  its  independ- 
ence. A  revolt  was  organised  by  some  of  the 
German  chiefs,  their  leader  being  a  certain  Arminius, 
whose  military  experience  had  been  acquired  by 
service  with  the  Roman  armies.  Varus  had  marched 
as  far  as  the  banks  of  the  Weser,  and  had  there 
constructed  a  permanent  camp. 

All  apparently  was  peaceful.  The  chiefs  were 
friendly,  the  people  submissive.  The  Roman  Governor 
was  thus  put  off  his  guard.  He  had  a  powerful 
army,  three  legions  with  their  usual  complement  of 
auxiliaries,  and  a  strong  body  of  cavalry. 

Altogether  the  force  must  have  amounted  to  nearly 
forty  thousand.  But  he  had  weakened  it  by  sending 
off  detachments  in  various  directions.  Tidings  reached 


THE   DEATH    OF   AUGUSTUS.  35 

him  that  a  remote  tribe  had  risen  in  rebellion,  and 
he  set  off  to  reduce  them  to  submission.  As  he  was 
passing  through  a  wooded  valley,  probably  between 
Osnabruck  and  Paderborn,  he  was  attacked  by  the 
Germans  in  overwhelming  numbers.  The  army,  encum- 
bered with  baggage  and  non-combatants,  had  great 
difficulty  in  advancing.  Still  it  contrived  to  make 
its  way  to  an  open  spot  without  much  loss.  For  two 
more  days  it  marched  and  fought  incessantly.  By 
the  evening  of  the  second  day  it  had  ceased  to  exist. 
A  few  scattered  fugitives  escaped,  but  the  mass  of 
the  army  was  either  slaughtered  or  captured.  Varus 
killed  himself. 

The  effect  of  this  blow  on  the  aged  Augustus— he 
was  now  seventy-five — was  crushing.  For  six  months 
he  let  his  hair  and  beard  grow,  a  sign  in  a  Roman 
of  the  very  prostration  of  grief.  In  his  agony  he 
dashed  his  head  against  the  wall,  crying  in  piteous 
accents,  "  Varus,  give  me  back  my  legions."  He  could 
not  bear  any  longer  to  have  about  him  the  German 
body-guards  who  had  hitherto  surrounded  his  person. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  his  last  years  were 
continually  clouded  by  the  recollection  of  this  disaster. 

But  he  had  long  had  in  his  own  family  a  yet  more 
painful  trouble. 

For  years  a  fierce  struggle  had  been  going  on  for 
the  succession  to  the  throne.  Livia  had  brought  two 
sons  by  her  first  husband  into  the  Imperial  house;  to 


36  THE  DEATH    OF    AUGUSTUS. 

Augustus  she  had  borne  no  child.  She  set  her  heart 
on  securing  the  crown  for  Tiberius,  the  elder  of  the 
two.  He  was  not  unworthy,  an  able  statesman  and 
soldier,  and  as  yet  unstained  by  the  vices  of  his 
later  years.  For  a  time  all  went  well.  Then  came 
a  crisis,  and  it  seemed  as  if  his  hopes  were  crushed. 
He  retired  from  Court  into  something  like  exile. 
Then  his  fortunes  rose  again.  Julia,  the  daughter  of 
Augustus,  was  disgraced.  *  Her  first  and  second  sons 
(children  by  her  first  husband,  Agrippa)  died  in  rapid 
succession.  Her  daughter,  another  Julia,  brought  a  new 
shame  upon  her  family,  wringing  from  her  unhappy 
grandfather,  the  bitter  cry,  *  Would  I  had  perished 
childless  and  unwed  P^  One  son  still  remained, 
Agrippa  Postumus  by  name.  But  he  was  uncouth 
and  savage,  with  nothing  princely  about  him^ — no 
trace  even  of  gentle  blood  in  person  or  bearing. 
He  could  learn  nothing,  not  even  martial  exercises. 
Fishing,  a  sport  which  he  pursued  in  sullen  solitude; 
was  his  only  taste.  Furious  at  the  sight  of  so  degen- 
erate a  scion  of  his  race,  the  Emperor  procured 
from  the  Senate  a  decree  of  perpetual  exile  against 
the  unhappy  youth,  and  he  was  removed  to  Planasia, 
a  barren  islet  near  Elba.  The  succession  of  Tiberius 
seemed  secure. 

Then,    in    the    last   year  of  his  life,  the  old  man 

*  She   had   married  Tiberius  as  her  second  husband,  and  had 
quarrelled  with  him. 


THE  DEATH   OF   AUGUSTUS.  37 

seems  to  have  turned  again  to  his  own  flesh  and 
blood.  He  would  see  whether  this  grandson  was 
quite  hopeless.  Livia  and  Tiberius  had  their  enemies, 
and  these  built  their  hopes  on  the  succession  of  the 
banished  Agrippa.  One  of  them  was  the  represent- 
ative of  perhaps  the  noblest  house  in  Kome,  the  Fabii. 
Augustus  visited  Planasia  in  his  company.  This  part 
of  the  story  may  seem  doubtful.  Could  the  aged 
and  infirm  Augustus  have  taken  such  a  journey, 
for  Planasia  is  forty  miles  from  the  mainland?  Could 
he  have  come  without  the  privity  of  Lyvia?  But  he 
may  have  sent  Fabius  and  charged  him  to  bring  back 
a  report. 

Nothing  is  kwown  of  what  passed,  but  the  result 
was  bitterly  disappointing.  And  then,  by  the  indis- 
cretion of  Fabius's  wife,  the  story  came  to  the  ears 
of  Livia.  She  turned  the  wrath  of  the  Emperor, 
furious  at  having  his  newly-awakened  affection  thus 
thrown  back  on  himself,  against  the  counsellor  who 
had  advised  the  journey.  Fabius  went  to  pay  his 
customary  homage  to  his  master,  and  was  met  with 
the  salutation,  not  of  greeting  but  of  farewell.  It 
was  a  hint  that  the  Emperor  wished  to  see  him  no 
more.  That  hint  meant  death.  He  left  the  imperial 
presence,  and  killed  himself. 

Not  many  weeks  after,  Augustus  died,  and  Tiberius 
reigned  in  his  stead.  The  unhappy  Agrippa  did  not 
Ions:  survive  the  accession  of  his  rival.     A  centurion 


38  THE    DEATH    OF    AUGUSTUS. 

was  sent  to  assassinate  liim,  and  lie  was  slain,  but, 
though  taken  by  surprise  and  unarmed,  not  till  after 
a  desperate  resistance.  The  responsibility  for  thi^ 
crime  was  bandied  about  in  a  not  unusual  fashion. 
The  centurion  reported  himself  to  Tiberius.  The 
Emperor  denied  that  he  had  given  any  orders. 
The  orders  doubtless  had  been  given  by  Livia,  but 
it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  Tiberius  had  no  know- 
ledge of  them.  No  one  believed  Livia's  pretence  that 
Augustus  had  left  directions  that  the  deed  should  be 
done.  The  old  Emperor  had  never  hardened  his 
heart,  under  the  extremcst  provocation,  to  execute 
any  of  his  kindred. 

A  curious  sequel  to  the  story  of  Agrippa  remains 
to  be  told.  One  Clemens,  who  had  been  among  his- 
attendants,  on  hearing  of  the  death  of  Augustus, 
conceived  the  idea  of  carrying  the  youth  off  to  the 
German  army,  and  proclaiming  him  Emperor.  He 
made  his  way  to  Planasia,  but  the  merchant-ship  on 
which  he  had  taken  his  passage  sailed  slowly,  and 
he  came  too  late.  Clemens  then  resolved  to  person- 
ate the  dead  man,  to  whom  he  bore  a  remarkable 
resemblance.  He  stole  the  ashes — why  it  is  difficult 
to  see — went  into  retirement  till  his  hair  and  beard 
were  grown  long,  and  then  proclaimed  himself  to  be 
the  grandson  of  Augustus. 

He    was    careful    never   to  show  himself  in  broad 
daylight,  or  stop  in  the  same  place  for  long.  Still  he 


THE  DEATH   OF   AUGUSTUS.  39 

found  many  to  believe  in  him^  and  Tiberius  was  not 
a  little  perplexed.  Should  he  take  any  notice  of 
the  pretender  or  no  ?  Finally  he  had  him  kidnapped 
and  brought  to  Rome.  "  How  did  you  make  yourself 
Agrippa?"  he  asked  the  man.  **  In  just  the  same 
way  as  you  made  yourself  Emperor, "  was  the  reply. 
The  pretender  was  secretly  put  to  death,  but  Tiberius 
found  it  convenient  to  make  no  enquiries  as  to  who 
had  supported  his  claims.  Among  them  were  many 
officers  of  his  own  establishment,  and  not  a  few 
members  of  the  Senate  and  of  the  great  capitalists 
of  Rome.  What  would  have  happened  if  Clemens's 
merchantman  had  sailed  a  little  faster  ?  Agrippa  had 
evidently  a  powerful  party  behind  him. 


V. 

A  MUTINY, 


Tiberius. 

THE  accession  of  Tiberius  seems  to  have  been 
received,  if  not  with  enthusiasm,  yet  without 
protest  throughout  the  Empire.  But  it  gave  the 
occasion  to  a  dangerous  movement  among  the  armies 
of  the  frontier  provinces  of  Europe.  Pannonia  was 
one  of  these.  It  reached  along  the  course  of  the 
Danube    from    Vienna    to    Belgrade,    and    extended 


A    MUTINY.  41 

southward  and  westward  to  no  great  distance  from 
the  Adriatic.  Its  governor  was  always  an  officer  of 
consular  rank,  and  he  had  three  legions  under  his 
control.  These  three  (the  eighth,  the  ninth,  and 
fifteenth)  were  at  this  time  quartered  together  in  a 
summer  camp,  the  general  in  command  being  Junius 
Blaesus. 

Blaesus,  on  hearing  of  the  accession  of  a  new 
Emperor,  had  relaxed  the  customary  discipline, 
excusing  some  of  the  duties  which  formed  the  daily 
routine  of  the  soldiers'  life.  Though  idleness  is 
notoriously  the  parent  of  mischief,  this  brief  holiday 
could  hardly  have  done  much  harm,  had  not  some 
elements  of  disturbance  been  already  at  work.  The 
army  had  already  begun  to  feel  its  strength,  and  to 
know  that  the  throne  really  rested  upon  its  arms. 
The  Pannonian  mutiny  may  be  described  as  the  first 
mutterings  of  a  storm  which,  in  after  years,  was  to 
break  out  again  and  again.  The  time  was  coming 
when  every  army  would  think  itself  entitled  to  set 
up  a  candidate  for  the  Empire;  and  the  movement 
which  I  am  about  to  relate  was  the  first  sign  of  its 
approach. 

A  spokesman  of  the  general  discontent  was  found 
in  a  certain  Percennius.  Before  enlisting  he  had 
been  the  chief  of  a  gang  of  claqueurs^  whose  business 
it  was  to  lead  the  applause,  or  it  might  be,  the 
Iiissino:    at   the  theatres  of  Rome.     He  was  a  fluent 


42  A   MUTINY. 

and   reckless  man,    and  had  caught  in  his  theatrical 
experience  the  trick  of  exciting  a  crowd. 

There  was  some  natural  anxiety  in  the  minds  of 
the  troops  as  to  what  would  be  the  conditions  of 
service  under  the  new  Emperor,  and  there  were 
undoubted  grievances  of  which  they  had  to  complain. 
On  these  Percennius  enlarged,  at  the  same  time 
reminding  his  hearers,  that  the  time  for  demanding 
redress  was  come.  If  they  lost  the  opportunity 
afforded  by  a  ruler  not  yet  firmly  established 
on  his  throne,  they  would  be  wholly  to  blame. 
"Already,"  he  cried,  "we  have  borne  too  much. 
They  make  us  serve  thirty,  nay  forty  campaigns, 
and  that  though  we  have  been  maimed  with  wounds. 
Even  when  we  are  discharged,  as  they  call  it,  we 
are  not  free;  we  are  kept  with  the  standard,  and 
have  to  perform,  under  another  name,  the  same 
services.  *  If  by  any  chance  a  man  survives  all  the 
dangers  of  a  soldier's  life,  what  is  his  reward  ?  What 
they  call  an  allotment  of  land,  some  swamp,  some 
intractable  hill.  Do  they  tell  us  we  can  save  out  of 
our  pay?  Soldiering  is  a  service  as  unprofitable  as  it 

•  This  must  have  been  an  exaggeration,  to  say  the  least. 
The  soldiers  called  vexillavii,  i.  e.  kept  with  the  standard, 
were  supposed  to  be  exempt  from  the  ordinary  duties  of  forti- 
fying the  camp  etc.  Possibly  they  might  be  called  upon  in  an 
emergency  to  do  something  of  the  kind,  and  Percennius  would 
have  justified  his  statement  by  these  exceptions. 


A    MUTINY.  43 

is  hard.  Our  souls  and  bodies  are  valued  at  half  a 
denarius  a  day!  Out  of  this  we  have  to  find  our 
clothing,  our  arms,  our  tents,  and  to  purchase  any 
indulgence  which  the  severity  of  our  officers  may 
allow.  We  must  demand  nothing  less  than  this— fixed 
conditions  of  service,  a  full  denarius  a  day,  discharge 
at  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  year,  no  further  service 
with  the  standard,  and  our  discharge-money  paid 
us  in  coin  and  on  the  spot.  Is  the  service  of  the 
Praetorians,  who  receive  two  denarii  a  day,  and  who 
can  retire  after  sixteen  years,  more  perilous  than 
ours?  We  do  not  disparage  sontinel's  duty  in  Rome; 
but  it  is  we  who  have  to  live  among  barbarians, 
with  the  enemy  in  sight  of  our  tents.  ^' 

This  speech  was  received  with  a  roar  of  applause. 
The  soldiers  pointed  in  confirmation  of  his  words 
to  their  backs  scarred  by  the  lash,  to  their  gray  hairs, 
to  their  ragged  clotliing.  A  proposal  to  amalgamate  the 
three  legions,  a  deadly  offence  against  military  discipline, 
was  only  defeated  by  the  jealousy  of  the  three  corps. 

But  the  eagles  and  standards  were  actually  massed 
in  one  place,  and  the  soldiers  set  about  building  a 
hustings  of  turf.  Blaesus  entreated  them  to  desist, 
imploring  them  to  vent  their  rage  on  him  rather 
than  rebel  against  the  Emperor.  lie  begged  them 
to  remember  that  this  was  not  the  way  to  convey 
their  requests  to  the  Emperor,  requests  for  privih^ges 
which    had   never   before   been   asked   for,   either   in 


44  A    MUTINY. 

Republican  times,  or  in  the  days  of  Augustus.  It 
was  scarcely  the  time,  he  said,  to  approach  their 
sovereign,  distracted  as  he  must  be  by  the  cares  of 
a  new  reign.  Still  if  they  were  inclined  to  do  so, 
let  them  do  it  in  regular  form,  appointing  delegates 
to  express  their  wishes.  The  soldiers  assented, 
demanding  that  Blacsus  himself  should  undertake 
this  duty.  He  was  to  ask  for  discharge  after  sixteen 
years'  service.  This  granted,  they  would  put  their 
other  demands  into  shape. 

A  brief  interval  of  quiet  followed,  though  the  troops 
were  demoralized  by  the  discovery  that  they  were 
more  likely  to  obtain  their  demands  by  violence  than 
by  good  behaviour.  But  the  disorder  was  renewed 
on  the  return  of  a  detachment  which  had  been 
employed  in  the  making  of  roads  and  bridges  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Nauportus.  *  On  hearing  of  what 
had  been  going  on  in  the  camp,  they  mutinied,  plun- 
dered Nauportus,  which  was  a  flourishing  palace,  and 
maltreated  their  officers.  Against  the  quarter-master 
Rufus  they  had  a  special  spite.  He  had  risen  from 
the  ranks  and  w^as  inexorable  in  his  discipline ;  all  the 
more  pitiless  in  his  exactions,  says  Tacitus,  because 
he  had  himself  gone  through  all  that  he  demanded 
from  others.  They  loaded  him  with  a  heavy  burden, 
and  asked  him,  as  they  drove  him  along  in  front  of 

*  Now  Ober-Laybach  in  Carniola. 


A    MUTINY.  45 

the  line    of   march,    how    he    liked  carrying  such  a 
weight  for  so  many  miles. 

Blaesus  now  felt  that  he  must  act,  for  the  soldiers 
were  plundering  the  country.  He  could  still  count 
on  the  officers  and  the  well  disposed  portion  of  the 
troops,  and  he  ordered  that  some  of  the  most  conspic- 
uous offenders  should  be  arrested,  flogged,  and  thrown 
nto  prison.  The  men  thus  singled  out  implored  their 
comrades  to  rescue  them,  "You  see"  they  cried, 
"  what  will  be  your  fate.  What  they  are  doing  to  us 
to-day,    you    will    have  to  put  up  with  to-morrow." 

The  appeal  was  not  made  in  vain.  The  men  were 
rescued.  More  than  this,  the  prison  was  broken  into, 
and  the  criminals  confined  in  it  released. 

And  now  came  forward  one  of  those  "historical 
liars'*  as  they  may  be  called,  who  from  time  to  time 
have  made  such  a  sensation  in  the  world  by  the 
audacity  of  their  fictions.  The  General  was  standing 
on  the  hustings,  and  the  mutineers  were  eagerly 
watching  for  his  next  move.  The  release  of  the 
prisoners  was  a  direct  defiance  of  his  authority.  How 
would  he  meet  it?  Vibulenus — this  was  the  man's 
name — was  lifted  on  to  the  shoulders  of  his  neigh- 
bours and  thus  addressed  the  crowd: 

"  You  have  given  back  light  and  liberty  to  these 
innocent  sufferers ;  but  who  will  give  back  life  to 
my  brother,  or  my  brother  to  me  ?  The  army  of 
Germany    sent    him   to  take  counsel  with  you  about 


46  A    MUTINY. 

our  common  interests,  and  last  night  this  man,  by 
the  hand  of  his  gladiators,  the  creatures  whom  he 
keeps  to  destroy  you,  murdered  him.  Tell  me, 
Blaesus, "  he  went  on,  turning  to  the  general,  "  tell 
me  where  you  have  taken  his  corpse?  Even  our 
enemies  do  not  grudge  us  burial.  Tell  me,  and  then, 
when  I  have  satisfied  my  grief  with  kisses  and 
tears,  hand  me  also  over  to  your  murderers — only 
let  my  comrades  bury  your  victims,  slain  for  no 
other  crime  but  taking  counsel  for  the  common 
good." 

The  crowd  was  excited  by  this  story  to  the  high- 
est pitch.  The  gladiators  were  seized,  and  with  them 
the  general's  other  slaves;  a  search  party  was  told 
off  to  look  for  the  body.  Blaesus's  life  was  in  dan- 
ger, and  might  have  been  sacrificed  but  for  the 
opportune  discovery  that  the  whole  of  this  pathetic 
story  was  a  lie.  No  corpse  could  be  found,  the 
slaves,  w^hen  tortured,  stoutly  denied  that  any  siich 
person  had  been  killed;  very  soon  it  came  out  that 
Vibulenus  had  never  had  a  brother!  Still  the  wrath 
of  the  soldiers  demanded  a  victim.  The  general  had 
escaped;  but  a  centurion  of  the  name  of  Lucilius 
was  killed.  The  man  had  earned  the  nickname  of 
*  give  me  t'other,"  because  after  breaking  one  vine 
stick,  the  common  implement  of  punishment  on  a 
soldier's  back,  he  would  call  for  another  and  another. 
Other    unpopular    officers    contrived    to    hide    them- 


A   MUTINY.  47 

selves ;  tlie  tribune  and  the  quarter-master  were  driven 
out  of  the  camp.  Over  one  centurion  the  eighth  and 
the  fifteenth  legions  nearly  came  to  blows;  the 
men  of  the  eighth  were  for  killing  him ;  their 
comrades  of  the  fifteenth  protected  him.  The  quar- 
rel was  composed  by  the  energetic  interposition  of 
the  ninth  legion. 

News  of  these  troubles  reached  Rome,  and  com- 
pelled Tiberius,  so  serious  did  they  seem,  to  open 
and  speedy  action.  He  sent  his  son  Drusus  with 
an  open  commission  to  deal  with  the  situation  as  he 
thought  best.  Drusus  was  accompanied  by  some  of 
the  most  distinguished  people  in  Rome,  and  had  a 
strong  escort,  consisting  of  two  of  the  nine  Prae- 
torian cohorts,  raised  above  their  usual  complements 
by  an  addition  of  picked  men  from  the  other  cohorts, 
the  Praetorian  cavalry,  and  the  Emperors  body- 
guard. Aelius  Sejanus,  of  whom  we  shall  hear  again, 
was  in  military  command,  and  had  the  young  Prince 
in  his  special  charge. 

The  Legions  went  out  to  meet  the  Emperor's 
representative,  not  in  the  full  accoutrements  which 
would  be  commonly  worn  on  such  an  occasion,  but 
with  a  studied  appearance  of  squalor.  Drusus  entered 
the  camp  with  them;  but  his  escort  was  barred  out. 
He  mounted  the  hustings  and  stood  for  a  while, 
beckoning  in  vain  for  silence.  At  last  he  contrived, 
in    an    interval    of   quiet,    to  read  a  letter  from  his 


48  A    MUTINY. 

father.  The  Emperor  was  profoundly  interested — so 
ran  this  document — in  the  welfare  of  his  brave  legions, 
sharers  with  him  of  so  many  arduous  campaigns. 
When  his  grief  would  allow  him,  he  would 
bring  their  demands  before  the  Senate.  Meanwhile 
he  had  sent  his  son,  who  would  make  such 
immediate  concessions  as  were  possible.  The  rest 
must  depend  upon  the  decision  of  the  Senate  which 
could  not  be  deprived  of  the  power  to  give  or  to 
refuse. 

The  soldiers  put  forth  a  centurion,  Clemens  by 
name,  ao  their  spokesman.  He  stated  their  demands — 
discharge  at  the  end  of  sixteen  years,  prompt  payment 
in  money  of  the  sum  then  due,  pay  at  the  rate  of 
a  full  denarius,  and  no  detention  of  full-time  soldiers 
with  the  standards.  Drusus  declared  that  these  were 
points  on  which  the  Emperor  and  the  Senate  must 
decide.  An  angry  shout  interrupted  him.  "  Why 
come,"  said  the  men,  ''when  you  can  give  us  no  relief, 
and  bestow  no  bounty?  Tiberius  used  to  mock  our 
demands  by  referring  them  to  Augustus,  you  aro 
repeating  the  same  device.  As  for  the  decision  of 
the  Senate  it  is  a  novelty.  Does  the  Emperor  intend 
to  consult  it  on  all  matters  that  concern  us  or  only 
when  we  are  asking  for  our  rights?" 

A  formidable  tumult  followed.  One  of  the  most 
distinguislied  of  the  visitors  from  Rome  had  a  narrow 
escape  of  his  life.  Aware  of  his  danger  he  endeavoured 


A   MUTINY.  49 

to  leave  the  camp,  and  was  attempting  to  do  so 
under  the  protection  of  the  Prince's  presence,  when 
the  soldiers  discovered  his  intention.  They  loudly 
proclaimed  their  belief  that  he  was  on  his  way  to 
misrepresent  their  cause  before  the  Senate  or  the 
Emperor  and  made  a  furious  attack  upon  him.  He 
had  been  felled  to  the  earth  by  a  blow  from  a  stone^ 
and  would  have  soon  perished,  but  for  the  interference 
of  the  escort. 

Things  had  now  a  very  threatening  aspect.  It  was 
doubtful  whether  the  Piince  emissary  himself  would  long 
be  safe  from  tlie  violence  of  the  mutineers.  Suddenly 
all  was  changed  in  a  very  curious  manner.  The  night 
that  followed  this  day  of  upnuir  was  marked  by  a 
total  eclipse  of  the  mocn.  The  soldiers  regarded 
this  phenomenon  with  intense  anxiety,  taking  it,  we 
are  told,  as  an  omen  of  their  own  fortunes.  They 
were  ignorant,  as  all  but  the  educated  at  that  time 
were  ignorant,  of  its  cause,  and  had  no  idea,  it  would 
seem,  that  it  was  a  reguhiny  recurring  event.  Their 
fancy  suggested  the  notion  that  the  satellite  now 
lost,  now  recovered  its  lustre;  and  they  hoped  and 
feared  accordingly  for  themselves  and  their  demands. 
Clashing  their  arms  together,  and  sounding  in  concert  on 
trumpets  and  clarions  they  sought  to  help  the  "  labour- 
ing planet"  in  its  conflict  with  an  unknown  enemy. 
When  its  face  was  finally  hidden  from  sight  by 
gathering    clouds,    they    gave    up    idl  for  lost.  They 


50  A   MUTINY. 

coulcl  hope  for  no  respite  from  their  toils  ;  they  had 
given  inexpiable  offence  to  the  powers  of  heaven. 
Drusus  and  his  advisers  made  prompt  use  of  this 
change  in  popular  feeling.  A  few  loyal  officers  who 
had  continued  to  keep  their  popularity  with  the  soldiers 
went  round  the  camp,  threatening  and  promising. 

"  Who, "  they  asked  the  mutineers,  *  are  to  be  your 
leaders  ?  Percennius  and  Vibulenus  ?  Are  these  the 
names  that  you  are  going  to  substitute  for  the  Neros 
and  the  Drusi  ?  **  How  much  wiser, "  they  went  on 
to  suggest  first  to  one  and  then  to  another,  *  to 
secure  your  own  interests  by  a  prompt  return  to 
your  duty !  Benefits  that  all  will  share  must  be  dif- 
ficult of  attainment,  but  you  may  make  certain  of  a 
reward  for  yourself." 

Of  course  these  emissaries  did  not  forget  to  show 
that  the  interests  of  the  recruits  and  the  veterans 
were  not  identical,  and  found  it  easy  to  sow  the 
seeds  of  dissension. 

The  next  day  Drusus  called  a  general  assembly 
of  the  troops.  He  took  a  more  commanding  tone. 
"Threats,"  he  declared,  "  were  useless;  but  if  the  men 
would  return  to  their  duty,  he  would  not  fail  to 
represent  their  case  to  his  father." 

It  was  agreed  that  a  deputation  should  be  sent  to 
Rome,  charged  with  the  duty  of  representing  the 
wishes  of  the  troops.  But  this  was  little  more  than 
a  pretence.     The  movement  had  failed. 


A   MUTINY.  51 

Vibulonus  and  l*ercennius  were  summoned  into  the 
Prince's  tent,  and  cut. down  in  his  presence.  Some- 
thing like  a  massacre  followed.  The  ringleaders  of 
the  mutiny  were  shiin  by  their  officers  or  by  the 
Praetorians.  Some  were  given  up  to  justice  by 
their  own  comrades,  anxious  to  secure  their  own 
safety. 

The  eighth  legion  was  the  first  to  return  to  its 
duty;  the  fifteenth  soon  followed;  the  ninth  was 
inclined  to  hold  out,  but  felt  that  it  could  not  stand 
alone..  Drusus  left  for  the  capital,  not  considering 
it  necessary  to  wait  for  the  return  of  the  deputation. 

The  eclipse  of  the  moon  mentioned  in  the  narrative  given 
above  is  fixed  by  astronomers  for  the  date,  September  26th. 
Augustus  died  August  19th.  We  have  thus  an  interval  of 
thirty-eight  days  into  which  these  events  were  crowded.  We 
do  not  know  where  the  summer  camp  of  the  Pannonian  legions 
was  situated;  but  it  could  hardly  have  been  less  than  seven 
hundred  miles  from  Rome.  We  have  to  allow  for  the  carrying 
of  the  news  of  the  Emperor's  death  from  Nola  (some  twenty 
miles  to  the  south  of  Rome)  to  the  camp,  for  the  taking  back 
of  tlMJ  intelligence  of  the  mutiny,  (which  did  not  burst  out  till 
after  some  days),  and  for  the  march  of  the  military  force  that 
accompanied  Drusus.  It  must  also  have  taken  two  or  three 
days  to  mobilize  these  troops.  The  march  alone,  at  the  rate 
of  twenty-five  miles  per  diem,  would  have  taken  nearly  a  month. 

The  difficulties  in  the  narrative  are  great,  even  if  we 
take  for  granted  the  excessive  alarm  displayed  by  the  soldiers 
at  the  appearance  of  phenomena  which,  after  all,  they  must 
have  witnessed  several  times.     And  yet  there  can  be  no  serious 


bZ  A    MUTINY. 

question  of  its  accuracy.  While  it.  makes  it,  certain  that 
comnmnication  was  rapid  in  these  times  between  the  different 
provinces  of  the  Empire,  it  may  also  be  fairly  taken  to  suggest 
that  scepticism  as  to  the  genuineness  or  truth  of  othernarratives 
of  a  more  important  kind  should  be  more  cautious  than  it 
sometimes  seems  inclined  to  be. 


YI. 

TEE  EMPRESS-MOWER. 

LIVIA,  Empress  and  Empress-Mother  for  nearly 
seventy  years,  is  one  of  the  stateliest  figures 
in  Roman  history.  By  birth  she  belonged  to  the 
great  Claudian  house,  a  race  far  more  celebrated 
indeed  for  the  arts  of  peace  than  for  triumphs  in 
war,  but  the  proudest  and  most  resolute  of  Roman 
aristocrats.  Adopted  by  one  of  the  Livian  family — hence 
the  name  which  she  bore  throughout  her  life — she 
married  into  her  own  house,  though  not  into  her  own 
branch  of  it. 

Her  husband  was  a  certain  Tiberius  Claudius  Nero, 
descended  from  the  famous  Nero,  whose  rapid  march 
northwards  in  the  twelfth  year  of  the  Second  Punic 
war  had  assured,  not  indeed  the  safety  of  Rome, 
which  was  no  longer  doubtful,  but  the  speedy  end 
of  a  desolating  war.  * 

*  Nero  Avas  watching  Hannibal  in  Apulia  when  he  heard 
that  Hasdrubal  liad  crossed  the  Alps,  and  was  on  his  way  to 
reinforce    the    Carthaginian  army.  Instantly  he  picked  his  best 


54  THE    EMPRESS-MOTHER. 

Her  husband  took  the  wrong,  or,  at  least,  the 
unsuccessful  side  in  one  of  the  struggles  of  the  Civil 
War,  and  had  to  fly  for  his  life.  Livia  was  with 
him,  and  the  pair  had  more  than  one  hair-breadth 
escape,  once  very  nearly  being  discovered  to  their 
pursuers  by  the  crying  of  the  infant  which  the  young 
wife  was  carrying  with  her,  at  another  being  almost 
burnt  alive  by  a  forest  firew  But  a  reconciliation 
was  brought  about  between  Nero  and  Augustus  now 
acknowledged  master  of  the  Western  world,  and  the 
fugitives  returned  to  Rome.  Livia's  beauty  attracted 
the  notice  of  the  Emperor.  Her  husband  divorced 
her,  gave  her  away  to  her  new  spouse  and 
actually— so  the  story  runs— sat  as  a  guest  at  the 
marriage  feast.  She  was  then  but  eighteen,  the 
mother  of  one  child  (afterwards  the  Emperor  Tiberius), 
and  about  to  become  the  mother  of  another.  * 

It  was  not  then  in  a  very  reputable  way,  that 
Livia  became  the  partner  of  the  Imperial  throne. 
But  we  must  not  judge  these  things  by  modern 
standards,  and  whatever  we  may  think  of  Augustus, 

troops,  and  mnrdied  with  all  haste  to  join  his  brother  consul 
(who  was  stationed  in  northern  Italy).  A  few  days  afterwards 
Hasdrubal  was  det(;;ited  and  slain  near  the  river  Metaurus,  and 
Hannibal's  hist  hope   was  j;;one. 

*  Drusus  (afterwards  known  as  the  Elder,  to  distino;uish  him 
from  his  nephew,  the  father  of  Germanicus)  was  born  three 
months  after  his  mother's  mnrriji^e  to  Au^nstus. 


THE    EMPRESS-MOTHER.  55 

Nero  and  Livia  are  not  much  to  blame.  Resistance 
to  the  supreme  ruler  of  Rome  was  hardly  to  be 
thought  of,  and  no  one  certainly  in  those  days 
dreamt  of  being  a  martyr  for  the  sanctity  of  the 
marriage  tie.  Once  seated  on  the  throne  she  was  a 
model  of  all  that  a  wife  should  be.  Not  even  a 
breath  of  slander  tarnished  her  fair  fame.  She  was 
a  matron  of  the  old  Roman  type,  the  finest  ever 
seen  outside  the  circle  of  christian  womanhood. 
I  have  spoken  of  Livia's  ambition  for  her  children.  * 
Whether  she  used  any  sinister  means  to  clear  the 
way  to  the  throne  for  Tiberius,  the  elder,  is  a  matter 
about  which  we  know  nothing  for  certain.  That  she 
was  suspected  is  clear,  but  then  any  woman  in  her 
position  and  with  her  opportunities  would  have  been 
suspected.  That  when  Tiberius  gained  the  object  of 
her  ambition  she  sought  to  secure  him  in  power  by 
removing  the  unhappy  youth  f  who  had  the  fatal 
distinction  of  being  the  grandson  of  Augustus,  is 
almost  certainly  true.  Tacitus  seems  to  apportion 
the  guilt  of  the  murder  between  the  mother  and  the 
son.  He  tells  us,  however,  that  Tiberius  disclaimed 
all  knowledge  of  the  deed,  and  professed  an  intention 
of  bringing  it  under  the  notice  of  the  Senate,  an 
intention  from  which  he  was  turned  only  by  a 
representation    that   there    were    secrets    of   Empire 

*  See  pp.  35,  36. 
t  Agrippa  Postumus. 


Ob  THE   EMPP.ESS-MOTHER. 

which  it  would  he  highly  dangerous  to  reveal,  and 
about  which  the  Senate  must  not  be  permitted  to 
judge.  The  historian  has  a  vehement  prejudice 
against  Tiberius,  and  we  may  perhaps  conclude  that 
the  balance  of  probabilities  inclines  to  the  belief 
that  Livia  rather  than  her  son  had  the  principal 
share  in  the  deed. 

If  Livia  sinned  for  her  children,  she  was  grievously 
punished  through  them.  The  younger  of  the  two, 
Drusus,  a  brilliant  soldier,  who  carried  the  arms  of 
Rome  into  regions  never  visited  by  them  before  or 
after  his  time,  died  at  the  age  of  thirty  (A.  D.  9). 
This  was  sad  enough,  though  it  may  well  be  that 
he  was  happy  in  being  taken  away  from  the  evil  to 
come  and  that  his  mother  lived  to  feel  it.  She 
suffered  far  more  when  the  elder  son,  the  one  for 
whom  she  had  dared  so  much  and  suffered  so  much, 
showed  jealousy  which  was  not  long  in  growing 
into  something  like  hatred. 

She  seemed  to  him  to  claim  an  equal  share  in 
the  government,  and  this  his  sullen  temper  could 
not  brook.  He  had  grown  indeed  so  used  to  her 
counsels  that  he  found  it  hard  to  do  without  them; 
but  he  deliberately  estranged  himself  from  her  more 
and  more  completely.  It  was  especially  annoying 
for  him  to  be  styled,  as  he  was  in  the  proceedings 
of  the  Senate,  the  son  of  Augustus  and  Livia.  He 
refused  to  allow  the  title  of  "  Mother  of  the  Country " 


THE   EMPRESS-MOTHER.  57 

to  be  bestowed  on  her;  he  llirited  as  far  as  he 
could  the  distinctions  which  her  position  seemed  to 
make  natural.  He  went  further  than  this;  he  told 
her  plainly  that  she  was  fond  of  meddling  with 
affairs  too  great  for  her  or  for  any  woman.  His 
jealousy  descended  sometimes  to  ludicrous  meanness. 
A  fire  broke  out  near  the  Temple  of  Yesta,  the  most 
sacred  spot  in  Rome,  and  the  Empress,  who  must 
have  been  then  past  her  eightieth  year,  herself  came 
upon  the  scene,  as  she  had  more  than  once  in  the 
lifetime  of  Augustus,  and  urged  the  populace  and 
the  soldiers  who  were  putting  out  the  flames  to  do 
their  very  best.  Tiberius  was  most  unreasonably  angry 
at  her  activity.  At  last  the  two  came  to  an  open  feud. 
Livia  begged  her  son  to  bestow  some  honour  on  one 
of  her  proteges.  He  refused  and  she  repeated  her 
request.  At  last  he  said  "  Yes,  I  will  do  it,  if  you 
will  allow  this  entry  to  be  made  in  the  register; 
*  This  was  extorted  from  me  by  my  mother.' "  Stung 
to  the  quick,'  she  produced  an  old  memorandum  in 
the  hand-writing  of  Augustus,  complaining  of  the 
morose  and  odious  character  of  his  stepson.  Tiberius 
was  furious  to  find  that  such  a  document  had  been 
kept  so  carefully  and  was  now  brought  up  against 
him.  This  was  said  to  be  one  of  the  causes  that 
drove  him  out  of  Rome,  where,  indeed,  he  never  set 
foot  during  the  last  eleven  years  of  his  life.  His 
mother  lived  three  years  after  his  departure.  During 


58  THE   EMPRESS-MOTHER. 

that  time  he  saw  her  but  once  only,  and  that  but 
for  a  few  hours.  She  must  have  gone  out  of  the 
city  to  meet  him.  He  did  not  attend  her  funeral; 
neglected  her  last  wishes  as  to  the  disposition  of  the 
body;  and  did  not  carry  into  effect  the  provisions  of 
her  will.  * 

All  her  friends  felt  the  weight  of  his  displeasure. 
He  bore  and  showed  a  grudge  even  against  those 
whom  she  had  entrusted  with  the  conduct  of  her 
funeral  rites.  Such  was  the  end  of  all  her  guilty 
scheming.  There  is  no  doubt  that,  up  to  time  of 
the  rupture  with  her  son  Livia  exercised  a  moderating 
influence  on  his  rule.  Tacitus  distinguishes  live 
periods  in  his  character.  There  can  be  little  doubt 
indeed  that  the  historian  does  him,  on  the  whole^ 
less  than  justice;  still  we  may  accept  the  statement 
that  "  as  long  as  his  mother  lived  he  was  partly 
good  and  partly  bad."  But  the  best  side  of  Livia's 
nature  is  one  of  which,  but  for  an  accident,  we 
should  have  known  nothing.  Among  the  remains  of 
antiquity  which  time  has  spared,  is  the  chamber  in 
which  the  cinerary  urns  of  Livia's  family  f  were 
deposited.  There  are  stored  in  almost  endless 
succession  the  urns  of  her  personal  attendants,  her 
robe-women   and    tire-women,   and   others  who  filled 

*  The  legacies  were  paid  nine  years  afterwards  by  Caligula, 
t  The  word   "  family  "  is  used  in  one  of  its  classical  senses, 
ns  a  household. 


THE   EMPRESS-MOTHER.  59 

posts  in  an  establishment  which  must  have  been  one 
of  truly  imperial  dimensions.  Generations  of  such 
servants  passed  away  during  her  long  life.  There 
must  have  been  some  tenderness,  some  capacity 
of  affection  in  the  woman  to  whom  they  rendered 
failhful  service  and  who  preserved  the  affectionate 
memorial  of  them  when  they  v/cre  gone. 


VII. 

THE  DEATH  AND  BURIAL  OF  GERMAKICUS. 

TACITUS  says  of  one  of  the  Emperors  that  all 
men  would  have  thought  him  equal  to  Empire, 
if  he  had  never  been  Emperor.  Perhaps  it  was  well 
for  the  fame  of  Germanicus  *  that  his  character  was 
never  subjected  to  the  test  of  power.  As  it  is,  we 
know  nothing  but  good  of  him.  No  prince  of  the 
Julian  House,  few  of  any  royal  race,  have  been  more 
admired  in  life  and  more  lamented  in  death. 

One  cannot  wonder  that  Tiberius,  who,  without 
being  the  monster  that  he  appears  in  the  pages  of 
Tacitus  and  Suetonius,  was  certainly  morose  and 
suspicious,  was  jealous  of  the  brilliant  young  man. 
Augustus  is  said  to  have  hesitated  long  whether  he 
should  not  bequeath  to  him  the  throne.  He  decided 
in  favour  of  his  stepson,  Tiberius ;  nor  can  we  believe 

*  Germanicus  was  the  son  of  Drusus,  the  younger'  brother  of 
Tiberius.  His  wife  was  Agrippina,  daughter  of  Julia  and 
Agrippa,  and  so  granddaughter  of  Augustus. 


THE  DEATH  AND  BURIAL  OF  GERMANICUS.     61 

that,  while  Livia  was  alive,  any  other  choice  w^ould 
have  been  possible  to  him.  But  he  made  it  a  condition 
that  Tiberius  should  adopt  the  prmce  whose  claim 
was  thus  postponed  to  him.  Thus  Germamcus,  from 
being  a  nephew,  became  a  son,  and  a  son  whose 
brilliant  qualities  quite  threw  into  the  shade  his 
adopting  father's  natural  heir,  the  younger  Drusus. 
Tiberius  had  not  been  many  days  on  the  throne 
when  he  found  what  a  dangerous  rival  the  young 
man  might  be,  if  he  were  not  loyal;  and  loyalty  is 
a  virtue  which  such  character  as  Tiberius  find  it 
hard  to  believe  in.  The  legions  which  guarded  the 
Rhine  frontier  ot  the  empire  revolted.  Other  legions 
were  disturbed,  but  the  German  armies  were  the 
most  determined,  partly  on  account  of  their  strength,  '*' 
partly  because  they  hoped  that  Germanicus,  their 
general-in-chief,  would  claim  the  empire  for  himself. 
The  young  commander  brought  them  back  to  their 
allegiance,  "  1  know  not, "  says  the  historian,  "  whether 
with  more  loyalty  or  courage.  "  He  then  fought  a 
brilliant  campaign  against  the  German  tribes,  penetrat- 
ing to  the  spot  where  years  before  the  legions  of 
Varus  had  been  destroyed,  and  burying  the  remains 
of  the  dead.  When  he  returned  to  Rome,  the  people 
crowded  to  meet  him,  coming  as  far  as  the  twentieth 
milestone    from    the    city,    and   though   his  guard  of 

*  They    must    have    contained    not    far    from  a  third  of  the 
whole  military  force  of  the  empire. 


62     THE  DEATH  AND  BURIAL  OF  GEKMANICUS. 

honour,  from  tlie  Praetorian  Camp,  was  composed  of 
two  cohorts  only,  the  whole  of  the  force  went  out 
to  escort  him  home. 

There  were  not  wanting  prophets  of  evil.  "  The 
favourites  of  the  Roman  people, "  thoy  said,  "  are 
short-lived  and  unlucky.  It  loved  Drusus,  his  father, 
and  he  died  in  his  prime;  it  loved  Marcellus,  his 
uncle,  and  he  passed  away  in  his  youth."  Within  a 
year  these  gloomy  prognostications  were  fulhlled. 
Germanicus  lay  dead  at  Antioch,  and  there  were  the 
darkest  rumours  ahout  the  causes  which  had  brought 
him  to  his  end.  His  body  was  livid;  his  lips  were 
covered  with  foam,  so  said  tlrose  who  had  seen  his 
corpse.  Stranger  still,  his  heart  had  been  found 
unconsumed  in  the  funeral  pile;  and  the  heart  of  the 
man  who  dies  of  poison,  such  was  the  common  belief, 
the  flames  cannot  touch. 

Was  the  Emperor  guilty?  everyone  asked.  "  The 
suspicions  against  him  chiefly  arose  from  the  strange 
conduct  of  a  Piso,  who  had  been  appointed  to  the 
government  of  Syria  at  the  same  time  when  the 
Emperor  entrusted  to  Germanicus  the  general  command 
of  the  provinces  east  of  the  Mediterranean.  Piso 
seemed  to  have  a  mission  to  annoy  and  torment  his 
superior.  Anyhow,  he  behaved  to  him  in  a  way  on 
which  he  would  scarcely  have  ventured,  had  he  not 
felt  himself  supported  by  the  Emperor  himself.  He 
seemed   bound,    as  it  was  expressed  at  the  time,  to 


THE  DEATH  AND  BURIAL  OF  GERMANICUS.     63 

be  tliG  enemy  either  of  the  father  or  of  the  son,  of 
Tiberius  or  Germanicus,  and  everyone  believed  that 
he  chose  the  second  alternative.  It  may  not  be  a 
conclusive  proof  of  his  guilt,  but  when  he  returned 
to  Rome,  he  was  nearly  torn  in  pieces  by  the  people, 
and  condemned  to  death  by  the  Senate,  on  the 
charge  of  having  brought  about  the  death  of  his 
chief.  Among  the  evidence  brought  against  him  was 
the  discovery  in  the  house  which  he  had  occupied  at 
Antioch,  of  human  remains,  of  papers  inscribed  with 
charms  and  cures,  leaden  tablets,  inscribed  with  the 
name  of  the  victim,  and  other  articles  belonging  to 
the  magician's  stock-in-trade.  Magic  may  be  an  idle 
fancy,  but  the  story,  nevertheless,  may  be  true.  That 
the  prince  himself  believed  that  he  had  been  poisoned 
by  Piso  and  his  wife  is  certain. 

The  corpse  was  exposed  in  the  market-place  of 
Antioch  before  it  was  burnt.  About  the  funeral  there 
was  nothing  remarkable,  except  for  the  crowd  that 
attended  ^t.  Agrippina  at  once  embarked  with  the 
ashes,  though  the  season  was  unfavourable  for 
travelling,  and  sailed  to  Brundisiuni,  where  a  crowd 
of  friends  and  comrades  of  the  dead  man,  and  of 
strangers,  brought  together  by  affection  or  curiosity — 
some  even  by  the  notion  that  they  were  showing 
their  respect  to  the  Emperor — had  assembled.  The 
harbour  and  the  shore,  the  walls  and  roofs  of  the 
city — every  point,  in  short,  from  which  a  view  could 


64     THE  DEATH  AND  BURIAL  OF  GEKMANICUS. 

be  obtained — were  crowded  with  spectators  as  the 
fleet  drew  near.  All  eyes  were  fixed  upon  the 
unhappy  woman,  as  with  a  child  on  either  side,  the 
funeral  urn  in  her  hand,  she  stepped  from  the  ship 
on  to  the  pier.  A  deep  groan  went  up  from  the 
whole  assembly.  Kinsmen  and  strangers,  men  and 
women,  abandoned  themselves  to  the  same  passionate 
grief.  But  the  travellers  had  exhausted  the  violence 
of  their  sorrow,  and  the  loudest  manifestations  came 
from  the  crowd  on  shore. 

Two  Praetorian  cohorts  had  been  sent  to  meet  the 
funeral  cortege,  and  the  urn  was  borne  on  the  shoulders 
of  the  officers.  With  the  standards  furled,  and  the 
axes  reversed,  the  Praetorians  marched  along  the 
great  Appian  Road.  In  all  the  towns  on  the  way, 
the  inhabitants,  dressed  in  mourning,  lined  the  streets, 
where  altars  smoked  with  incense.  Even  from  distant 
places  the  people  crowded  in,  eager  to  pay  the  same 
honour  to  the  dead.  At  Tarracina,  about  seventy 
miles  from  Rome,  the  procession  was  met  by  the 
Emperor's  son,  and  Claudius,  the  brother  of  the  de- 
ceased. The  new  Consuls  were  there,  for  another  year 
had  begun,  with  a  vast  crowd  of  all  ranks  from  the 
city,  weeping  with  the  true  southern  abandonment  to 
grief.  But  three  conspicuous  figures  were  absent — 
the  Emperor,  and  the  Emperor's  mother,  and  Antonia, 
the  dead  man's  mother.  Tacitus  believes  that  she 
was  not  allowed  to  come. 


TUE  DEATH  AND  BURIAL  OF  GERMANTCUS.     65 

The  day  on  which  the  urn  was  carried  to  the 
Mausolenm  of  Augustus  was  one  of  dismal  silence, 
broken  now  and  then  by  some  w^ild  cry  of  grief. 
The  streets  were  crowded;  the  soldiers  stood  under 
arms;  the  magistrates  had  laid  aside  the  insignia  of 
office ;  the  people  were  ranged  in  their  various  tribes. 
But  the  unprompted,  genuine  grief  of  the  whole 
nation  was  almost  the  only  public  honour  paid  to 
the  memory  of  Germanicus.  Many  remembered  how 
different  had  been  the  demeanour  of  Augustus,  when 
the  corpse  of  Drusus  *  had  been  brought  home.  He 
had  come  to  meet  it,  though  the  weather  was  intensely 
cold,  and  had  not  left  it  till  it  entered  the  city.  The 
images  f  of  the  great  Claudian  and  Julian  Houses  had 
been  ranged  round  the  bier.  The  funeral  lament  had 
been  raised  in  the  Forum,  and  the  panegyric  on  the 
dead  pronounced  from  the  hustings.  All  these  honours 
were  studiously  withheld  from  the  ceremony  of  German- 
icus, whose  funeral,  but  for  the  universal  sorrow,  might 
have   been   that  of  the  most  undistinguished  citizen. 

It  was  not  the  Roman  world  only  that  wept  for 
him.  The  German  tribes  voluntarily  offered  a  truce 
when  they  heard  of  his  death,  and  the  Parthian 
monarch,  then  as  now  styling  himself  King  of  Kings,  § 
neither  followed  the  chase  nor  entertained  his  nobles. 

*  The  father  of  Germanicus. 

t  Waxen  masks  representing  former  members  of  the  families. 

§  Parthia  roughly  corresponds  to  the  Persia  of  to-day. 


vin. 

TEE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  SFJANUS. 

*  niHE  rise  and  fall  of  Sejanus,"  snys  Tacitus  in 
_L  one  of  his  most  characteristic  sentences,  "  were 
equally  disastrous  to  the  commonwealth  of  Rome." 
The  country  was  peaceful  before  the  days  of  his 
power;  he  desolated  it  with  proscription  and  massacre. 
The  Imperial  family  was  prosperous;  he  made  it  by 
his  intrigues  like  one  of  the  doomed  houses  of  tragedy. 
And  then,  when  he  was  crushed  by  the  master  whom 
he  had  deceived,  and  Rome  was  rejoicing  to  be  rid 
of  him,  she  found  herself  the  victim  of  a  worse 
tyranny  than  ever.  When  Sejanus  had  fallen,  Tiberius, 
perhaps  because  he  had  lost  all  faith  in  his  fellow- 
men,  became  more  cruel,  more  abandoned  than  before. 
Aelius  *  Sejanus  was  a  Tuscan  by  birth.  He 
obtained  in  his  youth  a  commission  in  the  Praetorian 

*  He  did  not  really  belong  to  the  Aelian  House,  which  was 
one  of  the  oldest  in  Italy,  claiming  descent,  curiously  enough, 
from  Lamus,  the  old  "Cannibal  King"  of  the  Laestrygons;  such 
is  the  passion  of  men  for  the  honour  of  a  long  descent. 


THE    RISE    AND    FALL    OF    SEJANUS.  67 

Guard,  and  rose  from  post  to  post  till  he  became 
chief-in-command,  first  as  his  father's  colleague  and 
then  alone.  It  was  he  who  made  the  Praetorians  the 
formidable  force  that  many  a  time  in  after  years 
gave  the  Empire  at  its  will.  He  collected  its  scattered 
regiments  into  one  corps^  and  gave  it  a  camp  outside 
the  walls.  He  spared  no  pains  to  make  himself  the 
idol  of  the  troops,  not  only  in  Rome,  but  in  the 
provinces,  and  he  succeeded  so  well,  that  his  bust 
was  commonly  placed  beside  the  Emperor's  at  head- 
quarters to  be  common  objects  of  veneration.  * 

His  ambition  now  began  to  soar  higher,  to  an 
alliance  with  the  throne,  even  to  the  throne  itself.  The 
alliance  came  within  his  grasp,  and  then  was  snatched 
away  again  by  what  must  have  seemed  a  trick  of 
fortune.  His  daughter  was  betrothed  to  the  young 
son  of  Claudius,  the  Emperor's  nephew.  But  the  boy 
met  his  death  at  Pompeii  by  a  curious  accident. 
He  was  amusing  himself  by  thrpwing  a  pear  into 
the  air  and  catching  it  in  his  mouth.  The  fruit  fixed 
itself  in  his  throat,  and  choked  him.  But  this  disap- 
pointment was  soon  forgotten  in  the  excitement  of 
greater  schemes.  Drusus,  the  Emperor's  son,  was  a 
personal    enemy.    There    had    been    an  open  quarrel 

*  It  is  recorded  as  one  of  the  very  rare  instances  of  largess 
to  the  soldiers  in  the  frugal  Tiberius,  that  he  made  a  distribution 
of  money  to  the  legions  of  the  East  because  they  had  not  paid 
any  honours  to  the  bust  of  Sejanus. 


68  THE    RISE   AND    FALL    OF    SEJANUS. 

between  them,  and  the  young  prince,  who  was  violent 
in  temper  and  somewhat  brutal  in  manner,  had  struck 
the  poAverful  minister  in  the  face.  The  insult  was 
terribly  avenged.  Sejanus  won  away  the  affections 
of  Livia,  Drusus's  wife,  and  then  persuaded  the 
wretched  woman  to  poison  her  husband.  The  crime 
was  committ(;d,  and  for  a  time  remained  undiscovered. 
One  obstacle  was  removed  from  the  path  of  his 
ambition.  As  soon  as  etiquette  permitted  he  made 
another  step.  He  asked  for  the  hand  of  the  widow. 
The  Emperor's  answer  was  vague,  but,  on  the  whole, 
favourable.  He  pointed  out  the  difficulties  of  the 
case,  but  declared  that  there  was  nothing  which  the 
high  qualities  and  loyalty  of  Sejanus  might  not  be 
held  to  deserve. 

One  difficulty,  the  deposition  of  Agrippina,  was 
soon  removed.  Her  temper,  naturally  haughty,  had 
been  embittered  by  wrongs  of  the  cruellest  kind. 
She  gave  mortal  offence  to  the  Emperor,  on  one 
occasion,  we  are  told,  by  showing  that  she  feared 
to  be  poisoned  at  his  table.  It  was  Sejanus  who 
had  warned  her  of  the  danger.  Not  long  afterwards 
she  was  banished  to  an  island,  and  her  banishment 
was  soon  followed  by  her  death.  Nero,  her  eldest 
son,  shared  her  fate;  and  Drusus,  who  was  next  to 
him  in  age,  was  kept  in  close  and  rigorous  confine- 
ment at  Rome. 

Sejanus    was    now,    so    to    speak,    Vice-Emperor. 


The  insult  was  terribly  avenged. 


<^\c-^*^ 


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of 


CAUS^ 


THE   RISE  AND   FALL    OF   SEJANUS.  69 

Tiberius  had  buried  himself  in  liis  island  retreat  (of 
which  I  shall  say  more  in  my  next  chapter)  and  his 
Minister  was  the  visible  representative  of  power. 
His  ante-chambers  were  crowded  from  morning  to 
night.  The  acquaintance  of  his  freedmen  and  his 
doorkeepers  was  eagerly  sought.  The  favour  of  the 
great  man  himself  was  counted  a  sure  passport  to 
power  and  wealth. 

Then  in  a  moment  came  the  fall  of  this  daring 
ambition.  Tiberius  satisfied  himself — lie  had  been 
first  warned,  it  is  said,  by  a  letter  from  a  kinswoman — 
that  the  man  whom  he  had  trusted,  on  whom  he 
had  heaped  such  honours  as  had  never  before  been 
bestowed  upon  a  subject,  was  preparing  to  overthrow 
him.  The  favourite  was,  or  seemed  to  be,  too  powerful 
to  be  openly  attacked.  Possibly,  Tiberius  found  a 
secret  satisfaction  in  flattering  and  fooling  him  to 
the  last.  Nor  can  we  feel  a  grain  of  pity  for  the 
man  who  was  so  basely  ungrateful  even  to  such  a 
benefactor  as  Tiberius. 

The  Emperor,  who  had  for  many  years  refused  to 
accept  the  dignity  of  the  Consulship,  *  allowed  him- 
self to  be  nominated  again,  and  he  made  Sejanus  his 
colleague.  At  the  same  time  he  gave  him  one  of 
the  high  priesthoods.    But  meanwhile  he  had  secured 

*  The  Kinperor  was  often,  but  not  always,  Consul.  The  theory 
of  his  power  was  that  the  power  of  various  conslUutionnl  oflices 
was  accumulated  in  his  Inuuls. 


70  THE   RISE    AND    FALL    OF    SEJANUS. 

an  instrument  of  his  vengeance  in  one  Macro,  vvlio 
held  high  command  in  the  Praetorian  Guard.  He 
sent  a  letter  to  the  Senate,  accusing  the  favourite 
of  treason.  The  reading  of  it  was  followed  by  a 
burst  of  applause ;  and  Macro  was  at  hand  with  his 
soldiers  to  arrest  the  accused.  His  fall  was  absolute 
and  instantaneous.  Not  a  voice,  much  less  a  hand, 
was  raised  in  his  defence.  Scarcely  the  mockery  of 
a  trial  was  allowed  him,  before  he  was  hurried  off 
to  his  death.  His  statues,  which  had  been  erected  in 
every  quarter  of  the  city,  were  thrown  down  from 
their  pedestals,  and,  such  was  the  popular  fury  against 
him,  almost  ground  into  powder. 

Tiberius  had  schemes  in  reserve  if  his  enemy  should 
be  found  to  have  any  following.  The  young  Drusus 
was  to  be  taken  out  of  his  dungeon,  and  shown  to 
the  troops  and  the  populace  as  their  new  chief.  He 
kept  ships  in  readiness,  in  which  to  transport  him- 
self to  some  distant  province,  if  his  island  retreat 
should  become  unsafe.  Notwithstanding  these  pre- 
cautions, he  waited  for  the  issue  in  intense  anxiety, 
standing  on  the  loftiest  peak  of  the  island,  and 
watching  for  the  preconcerted  signals  from  the  main- 
land, which  were  to  show  him  what  had  happened. 
And,  after  all  was  over,  it  was  nine  months  before 
he  ventured  to  leave  the  house  in  which  he  had 
concealed  himself. 

Meanwhile    a    reign   of   terror  prevailed  at  Rome. 


THE   RISE   AND    FALL    OF    SEJANUS.  71 

I  dare  not  tell  the  piteous  story  of  how  even  the 
innocent  children  of  the  fallen  man,  a  hoy  and  a 
girl,  were  carried  off  to  the  scaffold.  That  all  who 
were  even  distantly  suspected  of  sharing  his  schemes 
should  he  involved  in  his  doom  was  to  he  expected, 
but  the  crowd  of  flatterers  who  had  courted  him, 
because  he  had  the  ear  of  Ca)sar,  were  in  sore 
perplexity.  To  acknowledge  his  acquaintance  was 
enough,  and  yet  it  seemed  impossible  to  deny  it.  It 
is  a  pleasure  to  read  the  courageous  words  in  which 
one  of  the  accused  defended  himself.  **  Whatever 
may  happen,"  he  said,  "I  will  confess  that  I  had 
the  frien(U;liip  of  Sejanus,  that  I  sought  it,  that  I 
was  glad  to  win  it.  1  and  others  saw  that  his  friends 
were  the  favourites  of  Ciesar,  that  his  enemies  were 
miserable  and  degraded.  To  us  he  was  Sejanus  no 
longer;  he  was  a  kinsman  of  the  Imperial  House, 
Caisar's  colleague  and  friend,  who  made  and  unmade 
men  at  his  pleasure.  Who  were  we  that  we  should 
go  behind  the  Emperor's  judgment  and  hesitate  to 
believe  in  the  man  whom  he  trusted  ?  Punish,  Sire,  his 
accomplices  in  crime,  but  excuse  his  friends,  as  you 
excuse  yourself."  These  bold  words  saved  the  speaker 
and,  we  may  hope,  some  of  his  friends. 


IX. 

TIBERIUS  AT  CAPRI. 

THE  policy — or  was  it  caprice?— which  made 
Tiberius  leave  his  capital,  and  spend  the  last 
eleven  years  of  his  life  in  the  rocky  island  of 
Capreae,  is  one  of  the  puzzles  of  history.  Neither 
those  who,  following  Tacitus  and  Suetonius,  hold  him 
to  have  been  a  monster  of  wickedness,  nor  those, 
chiefly  to  be  found  among  modern  writers,  who 
regard  him  as  a  wise  prince  who  has  been  cruelly 
maligned,  are  able  to  account  for  it  satisfactorily. 
Among  the  causes  suggested  are,  as  has  been  already 
mentioned,  his  impatience  of  the  influence  exercised 
over  him  by  his  mother.  Another  is  the  influence 
of  Sejanus,  who  hoped  thus  to  increase  his  own 
poAver,  but  who  could  hardly  have  carried  his  point, 
unless  he  had  found  the  Emperor  already  well  disposed 
to  the  plan.  Among  the  private  motives  which  were 
mentioned  as  actuating  him  was  personal  vanity,  or, 
rather    the    unwillingness    to   display  to  the  eyes  of 


TIBERIUS   AT    CAPRI.  73 

the  public  a  face  that  had  been  once  handsome,  but 
was  now  disfigured  with  disease.-  In  this  there  was 
nothing  worse  than  weakness;  a  darker  motive  that 
has  been  attributed  to  him,  was  the  desire  to  engage 
in  disgraceful  pleasures  in  secret.  Whatever  the 
cause  of  his  retirement  from  Rome,  he  never  returned 
tot  it,  though  he  sometimes  visited  the  neighbourhood, 
coming  once  as  far  as  the  Gardens  of  Caesar  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Tiber.  •  His  mothf3r's  death  did 
not  bring  him  back,  nor  did  he  return  even  when 
he  learnt  from  the  conspiracy  of  Sejanus  what  a 
danger  he  might  incur  by  his  protracted  absence 
from  his  capital. 

The  island,  now  a  favourite  resort  of  English 
visitors  to  the  south,  was  admirably  suited  to  the 
solitude  which,  for  some  reason  or  other,  he  affected. 
It  had  only  one  landing  place,  and  that  so  limited 
in  extent  that  no  one  could  approach  it  without 
being  seen.  The  cliffs  were  high  and  inaccessible, 
and  the  sea  that  surrounded  it  was  deep.  The 
preparations  made  for  fitting  this  island  for  his 
residence  were  of  the  costly  style  w^hich  was  customary 
in  Roman  life.  Twelve  villas,  named  after  the  twelve 
great  gods  and  goddesses  of  the  Roman  pantheon, 
crowned  as  many  heights  in  the  island.  The  largest 
and    the    most    defensible    against  attack — no  slight 

*  The    famous    gardens   *  on  the  other  side  of  Tiber,"  which 
Julius  Cajsar  bequeathed  by  his  will  to  the  people  of  Rome. 


74  TIBERIUS   AT   CAPRI. 

rGCommcndation  in  the  oyes  of  tlio  jealous  tyrant — scorns 
to  have  been  the  Villa  of  Juy^itor.  It  was  here  that 
he  awaited  the  news  of  the  coup  d'  cUd  by  whi(;h 
he  struck  down  Scjanus;  it  was  in  this  that  he 
remained  shut  up  till  he  felt  himself  again  safe  on 
his  throne.  Strange  stories  are  told  of  the  jealousy 
with  which  he  guarded  the  secrecy  of  this  retreat 
against  even  casual  and  perfectly  harmless  visitors. 
A  fisherman  liad  contrived  to  elude  the  guards  and 
make  his  way  to  the  house  in  wich  tlie  Emperor 
had  taken  up  his  abode  in  order  to  make  him  a 
present  of  a  nmllet  of  unusual  size  wich  he  had 
caught.  Tiberius  ordered  the  man's  face  to  b(^  rubbed 
with  the  fish.  The  poor  wretch  was  overheard  to 
congratulate  himself  that  he  had  not  also  ollcred  a 
veiy  large  lobster  which  he  had  also  caught.  The 
lobster  was  brought,  and  s(^t  to  mangle  the  man's 
face  with  its  claws.  It  was  his  practice,  it  was  said,  * 
to  have  his  victims  thrown  from  the  clIiFs  into  the 
sea.  If  any  remains  of  life  were  found  in  them 
there  were  boatmen  in  readiness  below  to  dash  out 
their  braino.  To  such  a  pitch  of  frantic  rage  and 
fear  did  he  come,  after  the  fate  of  Sejanus,  that  on 
one  occasion  he  ordered  an  old  friend  from  Rhodes, 
whom  he  had  himself  sent  for,  to  be  seized  and 
tortured.     When  he  discovered  his  mistake  he  silenced 

•    We    must  take  these  statements  of  hostile  historians  with 
a  certam  reserve. 


TIBERIUS    AT    CAPRI.  75 

the  anticipated  repi'oache»  by  ordering  the  man  to 
be  put  to  death. 

Of  the  companions  of  his  retirement  not  the  least 
cherished  were  the  astrologers^  in  whose  power  to 
foretell  the  future  he  placed  a  confidence  which 
seems  hardJy  consistent  with  his  powerful  intellect. 
One  of  these,  Thrasyllus  by  name,  had  gained  his 
confidence  in  a  very  curious  way.  Tiberius,  if  he 
had  any  reason  to  suspect  false  dealing  in  the 
soothsayer  whom  he  had  consulted,  used  to  give  a 
signal  to  an  attendant,  a  man  of  remarkable  strengtli, 
that  the  prophet  was  to  be  thrown  over  the  clifi 
into  the  sea.  Thrasyllus  on  one  occasion  had  drawn 
his  patron's  horoscope,  and  the  attendant  was  in 
waiting  for  the  signal  of  death.  "  What  of  your 
own? "  asked  Tiberius.  The  man  calculated  it  with 
elaborate  care,  and  then,  with  every  sign  of  terror, 
declared  that  his  own  last  hour  was  close  at  hand. 
The  Prince  was  delighted  at  his  foresight,  and  made 
him  thenceforward  his  most  trusted  adviser  when 
the  secrets  of  the  future  were  in  question.  * 

It  was  not  at  Capreae,  however,  that  the  Emperor 
breathed  his  last.  He  had  gone  from  place  to  place 
with  the  restlessness  that  often  comes  before  the 
end^  and  had  settled  down  for  a  time  in  the  country 
ho'ise  which  the  great  soldier  Lucullus  had  built  near 
the   promontory   of    Misenum.     Among   his    visitors 

*  The  story  is  told  of  Tiborius's  sojourn  at  Rhodes. 
6 


76  TIBEUIUS    AT    CAPUI. 

there  was  a  skilful  Greek  physician,  whose  advice 
he  was  accustomed  to  ask,  though  without  putting 
himself  under  his  care.  The  man  came  to  make  his 
farewell,  took  the  Emperor's  hand  as  if  he  would 
have  kissed  it,  and  contrived  to  feel  his  pulse. 
Tiberius  perceived  it,  but  made  no  sign — he  was 
accustomed  to  conceal  his  resentment.  But  he  kept 
his  place  at  table  longer  than  usual,  and  retained 
his  friend  to  share  the  festivity.  But  the  man  was 
not  deceived.  He  told  the  major-domo  that  the 
Emperor  could  not  last  two  days  more.  Despatches 
were  sent  to  the  provinces,  and  other  preparations 
were  made  for  a  new  reign.  On  the  16th  of  March 
Tiberius  became  insensible.  Every  one  believed  him 
to  be  dead,  and  Caligula,  his  successor,  came  forth 
to  receive  the  congratulations  of  the  little  court. 
Then,  like  a  thunderbolt,  came  the  news  that  the 
Emperor  had  recovered  sight  and  speech,  and  was 
asking  for  food.  A  general  panic  followed ;  the  courtiers 
dispersed,  seeking  to  assume  an  expression  of  ignorance, 
or  of  the  decent  grief  that  befitted  the  attendants  of  a 
dying  prince.  Caligula  who,  but  a  moment  before,  had 
seemed  to  grasp  the  delights  of  power,  was  now  sunk  in 
the  depths  of  despair.  Only  Macro  retained  his  presence 
of  mind.  He  ordered  the  attendants  to  pile  rugs  and 
coverlets  on  the  old  man  till  he  was  suffocated.  Tiberius 
was  in  his  seventy-seventh  year  of  his  life,  and  the 
twenty-third  of  his  reign. 


X. 

TEE  MADMAN  ON  THE  THRONg. 


Caligula. 

IF  it  were  a  law  of  nature  that  a  son  inherits  the 
virtues  of  his  parents,  Rome  would  have  had 
the  best  of  rulers  in  the  young  man  who,  in  his 
twenty-sixth  year,  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Tiberius. 
Caligula*    was  the  youngest  son  of  Germanicus  and 

*  His  real  name  was  Caius  Julius  Caesar.  Caligula  was  a 
nickname  given  him  in  his  childhood  from  the  little  soldiers' 
boots  which  he  used  to  wear.     He  was  a  "child  of  the  camp", 


78  THE  MADMAN  ON  THE  THKONE. 

Agrippina.  On  Germanicus  Suetonius  bestows  the 
comprehensive  praise  that  he  had  all  bodily  and 
mental  virtues,  and  these  in  such  degree  as  no  man 
had  ever  possessed  before  or  since.  Agrippina,  though 
she  lacked  the  gentler  virtues  of  her  husband,  was 
a  Roman  matron  of  the  noblest  type.  Much  was 
hoped  from  the  son  of  such  parents,  but  never  were 
hopes  more  cruelly  falsified.  The  old  emperor,  indeed, 
with  whom  it  was  the  young  Caligula's  misfortune 
to  live,  saw  deeper  into  his  nature,  and  had  no 
illusions.  "  This  lad, "  he  would  often  say,  "  will  be 
the  death  of  me  and  many  more."  In  fact  he  was 
a  madman,  and  had  all  a  madman's  cunning.  In  his 
heart  he  hated  the  old  emperor,  *  but  he  kept  this 
hatred  a  profound  secret.  So  invariably  respectful 
and  obedient  was  he,  that  it  was  well  said  of  him, 
"  N  ever  was  there  a  better  slave  or  a  worse  master. " 
For  the  first  few  months  of  his  reign,  he  seemed  to 
be  all  that  could  be  wished.     The  exiles  of  the  late 

though  not,  it  would  seem,  born  within  its  precincts.  A  child 
could  hardly  have  been  dressed  as  a  Roman  soldier  in  miniature, 
but  the  boots  at  least  could  be  imitated,  and  the  legions  were 
vastly  pleased  at  the  sight  of  them  on  the  little  Caius. 

*  Suetonius  tells  a  strange  story  of  his  making  way,  dagger 
in  hand,  into  the  chamber  of  Tiberius,  bent  on  avenging  the 
death  of  his  mother  and  brothers.  The  sight  of  the  old  man 
sleeping,  as  he  thought,  touched  him,  and  he  threw  the  dagger 
away.  The  emperor  was  really  awake,  and  saw  the  whole, 
but  either  dared  not  or  would  not  ask  any  questions. 


THE  MADMAN  ON  THE  THRONE.  79 

reign  were  recalled,  and  general  amnesty  proclaimed. 
The  trade  of  the  informer  was  declared  to  be  at  an 
end.  Books  proscribed  by  the  jealous  tyranny  of  Tiberius 
were  again  permitted  to  be  sold.  In  short  the  young 
emperor  seemed  determined  to  "  crown  the  edifice  of 
liberty."  "So  far,"  says  the  historian  of  the  Caesars, 
"I  have  been  speaking  of  a  ruler;  now  I  have  to 
speak  of  a  monster." 

In  the  front  of  his  offences  conies,  curiously  enough, 
the  insane  desire,  as  a  Roman  thought  it,  to  be  a 
crowned  king.  Some  of  the  tributary  monarchs,  who 
were  protected  by  Rome,  were  visiting  the  city,  and 
he  was  jealous  of  their  diadems,  for  was  he  not  the 
King  of  Kings?  His  courtiers  prevailed  upon  him 
to  forego  wliat  would  have  been  a  fatal  offence  to 
the  people,  always  ready  to  be  slaves,  so  that  their 
master  was  not  a  king.  He  was  too  great  for  a 
crown,  they  told  him;  and  he  turned  his  thoughts 
to  claiming  the  honours  of  godhead.  He  took  his 
place  as  a  third  with  the  twin  brethren  Castor  and 
Pollux.  He  consecrated  a  temple  to  his  own  divinity, 
founded  a  college  of  priests,  and  set  up  a  statue  of 
gold,  which  was  always  covered  with  the  same  gar- 
ments that  he  himself  wore.  With  Jupiter  he  claimed 
the  equality  of  familiar  intercourse.  He  held  private 
conferences  with  the  great  deity  of  the  capitol,  the 
head  of  the  Roman  Pantheon,  whispering  in  the  ear 
of  the  statue,    and  listening  in  his  turn,    and  some- 


80  THE  MADMAN  ON  THE  THRONE. 

times  breaking  into  loud  threats.  "  Slay  me,  or  I 
slay  you,"  he  was  once  heard  to  say. 

If  gods  fared  thus  at  his  hands,  it  may  be  imagined 
that  men  did  not  escape.  Aged  senators,  who  had 
filled  the  highest  offices  of  State,  were  compelled  to 
run  at  his  side  for  miles,  or  stand,  napkin  in  hand, 
while  he  dined.  Rome  seems  to  have  been  always 
very  tolerant  of  these  indignities  to  the  nobles.  It 
was  a  new  and  audacious  experiment  on  its  patience, 
when  he  shut  up  the  granaries,  and  brought  all  the 
city  to  the  verge  of  famine.  In  audacity,  indeed, 
he  was  never  wanting.  It  seems  to  have  been  rather 
by  way  of  a  practical  witticism  than  of  a  measure 
of  precaution  that  he  ordered  a  general  massacre  of 
the  exiles.  "  What  were  your  thoughts  while  you 
were  in  your  island  ? "  *  he  asked  of  one  who  had 
come  back  from  exile  after  the  death  of  Tiberius. 
"  I  always  prayed  to  the  gods  that  Tiberius  might 
die,  and  you  come  to  the  throne."  "That  is  exactly 
what  the  exiles  are  doing  now,"  he  replied,  and  he 
sent  round  the  executioner. 

After  these  atrocities,  which,  indeed,  are  only  a 
few  out  of  the  dismal  catalogue  of  Suetonius,  it  is 
relief  to  turn  to  more  harmless  eccentricities.  He 
thought  of  destroying  all  the  copies  of  Homer. 
"Plato,"   he  said,    "banished  him  from  his  common- 

*  The  rocky  islands  in  the  -^gean  Sea  were  the  place  to 
which  the  exiles  were  commonly  banished. 


THE  MADMAN  ON  THE  THRONE.  81 

wealth;*  why  should  not  I  do  the  same?"  Virgil 
and  Livy  came  under  his  censure,  and  he  was  very 
nearly  expelling  their  writings  and  their  busts  from 
the  libraries.  Virgil  he  thought  to  be  without  genius 
and  learning;  Livy  was  a  crude  and  careless  historian. 
His  one  campaign,  albeit  it  had  the  merit  of  being 
bloodless,  was  one  of  his  maddest  acts.  He  marched 
against  Britain,  which,  since  the  day  of  Julius  Caesar, 
had  been  left  to  itself,  winning  a  victory  over  the 
Germans  on  his  way. 

The  enemy  indeed  was  a  sham,  a  handful  of 
prisoners  dressed  up  for  the  purpose,  whom  he  was 
summoned  from  his  mid-day  meal,  with  a  great 
show  of  alarm,  to  drive  back  from  the  camp.  He 
returned  after  routing  a  host  which  did  not  exist, 
loaded  his  companions  with  honours,  blamed  the 
cowardice  of  those  who  had  stayed  behind,  and 
censured  in  an  angry  despatch  the  carelessness  of 
those  who  were  living  at  ease  in  Rome,  while  their 
Emperor  was  imperilling  his  life.  Britain  he  never 
saw.  But  he  drew  up  his  army  in  array,  and  with 
all  the  engines  of  war  in  their  places,  on  the  opposite 
coast.  No  one  could  imagine  what  was  his  purpose, 
when  suddenly  he  bade  the  soldiers  fill  their  helmets 
and  their  pockets  with  shells.   "Spoils  of  ocean,"  he 

*  Plato,  in  a  well  known  passage  of  the  Bepublic,  proposes 
to  banish  Homer  from  his  ideal  state  as  speaking  of  death  in 
a  way  which  would  discourage  valour  in  the  citizens. 


82  THE  MADMAN  ON  THE  THRONE. 

called  tliem,  destined  for  the  capitol  and  the  palace. 
It  was  possibly  in  a  lucid  moment  that  he  ordered 
a  light-house  to  be  built  on  the  spot. 

For  such  a  prodigy  of  cruelty  and  folly  it  is  hard 
to  feel  anything  but  abhorrence.  Yet  it  moves  one's 
pity  to  know  that  the  creature  was  conscious  of  his 
own  frenzy,  and  sometimes  thought  of  going  into 
retirement  and  submitting  to  some  treatment.  Of 
course  there  is  the  common  story  of  how  his  wife 
Caesonia  gave  him  a  love-potion  which  made  him 
mad ;  *  but  the  historian's  account  •  of  the  matter  is 
sufficient.  *He  was  chiefly  troubled  by  a  want  of 
sleep.  He  never  rested  for  more  than  three  hours 
in  the  night.  Even  then  his  sleep  was  not  undisturbed. 
He  was  visited  by  terrible  dreams.  Accordingly  he 
was  wont,  wearied  as  he  was  of  lying  so  long  awake, 
sometimes  to  sit  upon  his  bed,  sometimes  to  wander 
up  and  down  the  long  corridors  of  the  palace,  praying 
and  longing  for  the  dawn." 

After  all,  it  was  not  the  public  indignation  but 
private  vengeance  that  brought  him  to  his  end.  His 
own  household  feared  and  hated  him,  and  no  one 
more  so  than  one  Cassius  ChaBrea,  a  tribune  of  the 
Praetorian  guard,  whom  he  took  every  opportunity 
of  insulting.  He  had  risen  from  his  bed  after  noon- 
day, for  he  was  indisposed  by  the  excesses  of  the 
previous  day.  He  hesitated  about  leaving  his  chamber, 

*  Exactly  the  same  tale  is  told  of  the  poet  Lucretius. 


CaBsonia  gave  him  a  love-potion. 


THE  MADMAN  ON  THE  THEONE.  83 

but  his  attendants,  who,  doubtless,  were  in  the  plot, 
urged  him  to  go.  He  had  to  pass  through  an  under^ 
ground  chamber,  where  some  boys  were  rehearsing 
a  spectacle  that  was  in  preparation.  As  he  was 
speaking  to  them,  Chserea  struck  him  on  the  neck 
with  his  sword,  crying,  "Take  this!"  Another  con- 
spirator dealt  him  a  blow  on  the  breast.  He  fell  on 
the  ground,  and  huddling  his  limbs  together,  tried  to 
shelter  himself  from  the  blows,  crying  out  all  the 
time,  I  am  altce,  I  am  alive.  Ninety  wounds  were 
found  afterwards  on  his  corpse.  When  it  was  too 
late,  his  German  bodyguard  hurried  up.  They  could 
do  nothing  but  kill  some  of  the  assassins. 

Such  a  story  only  wants  one  horror  to  complete 
it.  The  body  was  hurriedly  placed  on  the  funeral 
pile,  and  buried  when  half-burnt  in  the  gardens  of 
the  Lamiae.  The  keepers  of  the  place  were  disturbed 
by  the  spirit  of  the  dead  (so  Suetonius  tells  us,  as 
if  it  were  a  well-known  fact),  till  his  sisters,  whom 
he  had  banished,  returned  and  paid  the  last  honour 
to  his  remains  in  a  more  seemly  fashion.  And  in 
his  palace,  too,  till  it  was  burnt  to  the  ground,  not 
a  night  passed  without  some  terrible  sight. 


XL 


CASACTACUS  BEFORE  CLAUDIUS. 


Claudius. 


rpHE  sccnos  which  I  have  been  lately  presenting 
X  to  my  readers  have  been  scenes  of  tragedy. 
The  Greek  drama  itself,  which  found  its  favourite 
subjects  in  the  story  of  families  doomed  by  fate  to 
an  inevitable  ruin,  never  pictured  anything  more  full 
of   terror    and    doom   than  the  House  of  the  Julian 


CARACTACUS  BEFORE  CLAUDIUS.  85 

Caisars.  *    It   will    be    a    relief   to  turn,  at  least  for 
once,  to  a  less  gloomy  topic. 

Caractacus  f  was  the  King  of  the  Silures^  a  tribe 
of  Western  Britain,  inhabiting  the  region  now  known 
as  Monmouthshire  and  South  Wales.  It  was  his  hard 
fate  to  see  the  revival  of  the  schemes  of  conquest 
which,  for  nearly  a  century,  Rome  had  been  content 
to  lay  aside.  Julius  had  conceived  the  idea  of  adding 
Britain  to  the  Empire,  but  had  found,  after  the 
attempt,  that  Gaul  gave  his  troops  employment  enough. 
The  action  of  Augustus  was  to  contract  rather  than 
enlarge  the  Empire,  and  Tiberius  imitated  him  with 
scrupulous  care.  Caligula's  campaign  against  Britain 
was  only  a  burlesque,  but  it  showed  which  way 
Roman  thought  was  setting.    Claudius,  his  successor, 

*  Without  giving  the  somewhat  intricate  pedigree  of  the 
family,  I  may  state  the  relationship  of  the  six  Emperors  who 
are  known  by  this  name.  Augustus  was  the  nephew  (sister's 
son)  and  adopted  son  of  Julius  Ccesar;  Tiberius  was  the 
adopted  son  of  Augustus;  CrtZ/tjrwZa,  great-grandson  of  Augustus; 
Claudius,  nephew  of  Tiberius,  and  uncle  of  Caligula;  Nero, 
nephew  of  Caligula.  The  twelve  Caesars  are  the  twelve  Emperors 
whose  lives  are  given  in  Suetonius*  *  Lives  of  the  Caesars." 
Three  of  these  (Galba,  Otho,  and  Vitellius)  succeeded  and 
perished  in  the  course  of  a  single  year  (a.d.  69).  The  number 
is  made  up  by  the  three  Flavian  Emperors,  Vespasian,  and  his 
sons,  Titus  and  Domitian.     Their  family  name  was  Flavius. 

t  The  name  is  probably  the  Latinized  form  of  Caradoc,  and 
would  be  more  correctly  spelt  'Caratacus.' 


86  CARACTACUS    BEFORE    CLAUDIUS. 

undertook  a  regular  conquest  of  the  island,  and 
commanded  in  person  the  army  first  sent  over. 
Britain  was  now  the  last  witness  for  freedom  in 
Western  Europe,  and  it  fell  to  the  lot  of  Caractacus, 
who  had  a  certain  predominance  among  the  British 
chiefs,  to  be  her  champion  in  the  unequal  struggle. 
The  south  and  east  of  the  island  had  been  subjugated 
in  the  course  of  nine  campaigns,  and  Caractacus  was 
driven  to  fight  for  his  own  home.  The  locality  of 
the  last  conflict  is  uncertain,  but  the  historian  describes 
the  position  as  having  been  chosen  with  consummate 
skill.  The  British  camp  was  on  a  hill-side;  the 
approaches  to  it  were  steep  in  the  extreme,  except 
in  one  place,  and  here  a  stone  rampart  had  been  built. 
In  front  was  a  scarcely  ford  able  stream.  Attack 
was  difficult,  and  retreat  dangerous.  The  King  him- 
self could  be  seen  everywhere  encouraging  his 
countrymen  to  repel  the  invader,  and  he  was  received 
with  the  greatest  enthusiasm  by  the  army.  The 
Roman  general  was  fairly  terrified  by  the  strength 
of  the  position  and  the  numbers  of  the  enemy,  and 
would  have  postponed  the  battle.  The  soldiers 
insisted  on  fighting  at  once,  and  they  were  right. 
The  discipline  and  arms  of  civilization  triumphed 
over  barbarian  valour.  The  Romans  suffered  much 
while  they  were  mounting  the  ascent  under  a  shower 
of  missiles.  When  they  came  to  close  quarters,  their 
victory    was  won.     The  Britons  had  neither  helmets 


CARACTACUS  BEFORE  CLAUDIUS.  87 

nor  breast-plates,  and  it  is  probable  that  some,  at 
least,  of  their  weapons  were  of  bronze. 

The  wife,  the  daughter,  and  the  brothers  of  Caractacus 
were  taken  prisoners,  and  though  the  king  himself 
escaped,  it  was  only  to  be  betrayed  by  the  friend 
with  whom  he  had  taken  refuge,  Cartismandua,  Queen 
of  the  Brigantes.  *  He  was  handed  over  to  the 
Roman  general,  and  by  him  sent  in  chains  to  Rome. 

The  man  who  had  for  nine  years  continued  to 
make  head  against  the  forces  of  the  Empire  was  no 
common  person,  and  public  curiosity  was  greatly 
excited  about  him.  The  Emperor  had  not  forgotten 
that  his  one  military  achievement  had  been  a  victory 
in  Britain,  f  and  he  wished  to  take  this  opportunity 
of  reviving  his  fame  as  a  soldier,  which  indeed  it 
was  never  quite  safe  for  an  Emperor  to  allow  to 
be  forgotten.  A  great  spectacle  was  prepared  in  the 
Field  of  Mars,  and  all  Rome  thronged  out  to  witness 
it.  The  Praetorian  troops,  fully  accoutred,  were 
drawn  up  in  front  of  their  camp.  Claudius  sat  on 
what  may  be  called  a  platform,  but  was  really  a 
mound  of  earth.  Not  far  from  him  sat  the  Empress, 
Agrippina  the  Younger.  The  standards  of  the  Praetor- 

*  The  Brigantes  inhabited  the  greater  part  of  Yorksliire, 
and  the  whole  of  Lancashire,  Durham,  Westmoreland,  and 
Cumberland. 

t  Suetonius  says  that  there  was  no  fighting,  but  tliere  are 
reasons  for  suspecting  the  truth  of  this  statement. 


88  CARACTACUS   BEFORE    CLAUDIUS. 

ians  were  grouped  about  them  both.  Men  were  not 
wanting  there  who  were  shocked  at  the  spectacle  of 
a  woman  thus  arrogating  to  herself,  as  it  seemed, 
the  command  over  Roman  troops.  But  then  Agrippina 
thought  herself  entitled  to  at  least  an  equal  share  in 
a  power  which  her  ancestors  had  won.  The  spoils 
of  war  passed  in  a  brilliant  procession  before  the 
Imperial  seats.  Then  came  the  family  of  Caractacus, 
and  last  of  all,  the  captive  king  himself.  While  his 
companions  in  misfortune  descended  to  prayers  for 
mercy,  he  preserved  a  dignified  bearing.  Claudius 
bade  him  speak  if  he  had  anything  to  say  for  him- 
self. What  follows  is  the  substance  of  what  he  said, 
or,  at  least,  of  what  the  historian  puts  in  his  mouth. 
"  If  my  prudence  had  been  equal  to  the  glories  of 
my  position  and  my  greatness,  you  would  be  treating 
me  to-day,  not  as  a  prisoner,  but  as  an  ally.  I  had 
horses  and  men,  I  had  wealth  and  arms  with  which 
to  defend  it.  It  is  no  wonder  that  I  was  unwilling 
to  lose  them.  It  does  not  follow  that,  because  you 
Romans  desire  to  dominate  all  mankind,  all  mankind 
should  bow  their  necks  to  your  yoke.  As  for  myself, 
you  can  kill  me,  if  you  will.  Then  this  day  will  be 
forgotten.  Save  my  life,  and  your  clemency  will  be 
remembered  for  ever." 

Such  clemency  was  almost  unknown  to  a  Roman 
conqueror.  Jugurtha  had  been  left  to  die  of  hunger 
in  his  prison;    Vercingetorix,  the   last  of  the  Gauls, 


CARACTACUS    BEFOIIE    CLAUDIUS.  89 

had  been  put  to  death  by  the  very  man  who  describes 
so  sympathetically  his  valour  and  his  skill.  Claudius 
was  of  a  different  temper,  and,  perhaps,  the  times 
had  altered  since  that  for  the  better.  Anyhow  the 
British  king  and  his  family  were  spared.  Policy, 
however,  did  not  allow  them  to  return  to  their  native 
country,  and  they  spent  the  remainder  of  their  days 
in  Italy.  The  daughter  is  said  to  have  married  a 
Roman  gentleman. 

One  saying  is  recorded  of  the  captive,  when,  after 
his  audience  before  the  Emperor,  he  was  taken  to 
see  the  sights  of  Rome.  *And  you,"  he  said,  "who 
had  this  magnificent  city  of  your  own,  envied  us 
our  poor  huts ! "  With  this  remark  the  British  chief 
vanishes  into  obscurity. 


xn. 

THE  DEIFICATION  OF  CLAUDIUS, 

CLAUDIUS,  the  fourth  of  the  Julian  Caesars,  was 
one  of  those  unhappy  men  who,  through  no 
fault  of  their  own,  miss  their  vocation.  Nature  made 
him  for  a  scholar,  and  fortune  made  him  an  emperor. 
He  had  some  learning,  and  was  genuinely  fond  of 
literature ;  but  in  person  and  manner  he  was  singularly 
awkward  and  ungainly.  His  mother  had  the  greatest 
aversion  to  him.  "A  greater  fool  than  my  son  Claudius," 
was  the  most  unfavourable  judgment  that  she  could 
pass  on  any  one.  Augustus  thought  him  unfit  to 
hold  any  public  office  of  importance;  Tiberius  annulled 
certain  complimentary  resolutions  which  the  senate 
had  passed  concerning  him.  Caligula  made  him  his 
butt.  If  he  came  a  minute  too  late  to  dinner,  he  found 
his  place  filled  up.  If  he  fell  asleep  after  the  meal, 
which  he  commonly  did,  the  emperor  and  his  guests 
pelted  him  with  the  stones  of  olives  and  dates,  or 
woke  him  up  with  a  stroke  from  a  cane  or  a  whip. 


THE   DEIFICATION    OF   CLAUDIUS.  91 

In  the  Senate  he  was  the  last  of  the  ex-consuls  to 
be  asked  his  opinion.  The  solitary  honour  bestowed 
on  him  was  his  nomination  to  a  priesthood,  and  for 
this  he  had  to  pay  so  extravagant  a  sum*  that  he 
was  reduced  to  poverty. 

Then  came  a  sudden  change  of  fortune.  He  was 
in  attendance  at  court  when  Caligula  was  assassinated. 
In  his  terror  he  sought  to  conceal  himself  under  some 
curtains,  but  a  soldier  saw  his  legs  sticking  out  from 
his  hiding  place,  and  from  mere  curiosity  dragged 
him  out.  The  poor  wretch  fell  at  his  captor's  knees, 
and  was  astonished  to  find  himself  saluted  as  emperor. 
Other  soldiers  gathered  round,  put  him  into  a  litter, 
and  carried  him  through  the  streets  to  the  camp. 
All  who  saw  him  thought  that  he  was  being  carried 
off  to  execution ;  and,  indeed,  for  some  time  his  face 
was  doubtful.  The  Senate,  supported  by  a  few  cohorts 
of  the  city  soldiers,  thought  of  re-establishing  the 
Republic.  But  there  was  no  energy,  no  harmony  in 
their  action,  and  the  populace  was  unmistakably  in 
favour  of  a  despotism.  Claudius  had  the  claim  of 
birth,  and  he  was  acknowledged  without  further 
opposition,  but  not  till  he  had  purchased  the  Praetorians 
with  the  enormous  bribe  of  ^120  per  man. 

I  have  not  to  tell  the  story  of  his  reign.  It  was 
a   dismal    time  for  Rome,    not  because  the  Emperor 


*  £640,000. 

7 


92  THE   DEIFICATION    OF    CLAUDIUS. 

was  \)jd,  but  because  he  fell  into  bad  hands.  He 
was  a  glutton  and  a  voluptuary,  but  he  was  not 
blood-thh^sty.  And  yet.  such  was  his  weakness  under 
the  control  of  designing  advisers  and  counsellors,  he 
shed  more  innocent  blood  than  rulers  who  were  ten 
times  more  cruel.  At  last  the  end  came.  His  wife, 
the  younger  Agrippina,  had  induced  him  to  set  aside 
'his  own  offspring,  Britannicus,  in  favour  of  her  son 
Nero.  But  he  showed  signs  of  repenting  of  the  act. 
"He  that  gave  the  wound  can  heal,"  he  said  one 
day  to  the  lad.  Shortly  afterwards  he  was  poisoned, 
according  to  common  report,  by  a  dish  of  mushrooms, 
handed  to  him  by  his  wife. 

This  wretched  creature,  who  scarcely  deserved  to 
be  called  a  man,  was  added  to  the  number  of  the 
Roman  gods.  The  satire  with  which  Seneca  resented 
this  foolish  act  of  adulation  is  one  of  the  most 
curious  remains  of  Roman  literature. 

Claudius,  in  obedience  to  the  decree  which  had 
made  him  a  god,  presents  himself  at  the  gate  of 
heaven  and  demands  entrance.  The  report  of  the 
door-keeper  is  that  he  is  tall,  lame  of  one  leg,  and 
always  shaking  his  head,  that  it  was  impossible  to 
tell  of  what  race  he  was,  especially  whether  he  was 
a  Greek  *  or  a  Roman.  Hercules,  as  the  great 
traveller    among   the  dwellers  in  heaven,  is  deputed 

*    Claudius  prided  himself  on  his  Greek  scholarsliip. 


THE   DEIFICATION    OF   CLAUDIUS.  93 

to  question  the  stranger,  recognises  him,  and  is  much 
impressed  by  his  claims. 

A  high  debate  follows  among  the  gods  as  to  whether 
the  new  claimant  is  to  be  admitted.  Janus,  who  opens 
it,  roundly  asserts  that,  in  his  opinion,  the  honour  had 
been  made  too  common,  and  that,  in  future,  no  mortal 
should  be  admitted  to  it.  Hercules  pleads  in  his  favour. 
Other  gods  take  sides  for  or  against  him.  Finally  the 
motion  is  formally  proposed:  "Seeing  that  Claudius 
is  of  the  kin  of  Augustus,  let  him  be  made  a  god, 
and  let  the  thing  be  added  to  the  Metamorphosis  of 
Ovid."*  Hercules  is  very  urgent  in  recommending 
him  to  his  fellow-immortals.  He  canvasses  them  all, 
and  beseeches  them  to  vote  for  him  as  a  personal 
favour.  He  would  do  the  same  for  them  on  another 
occasion.  "Scratch  me,  and  I'll  scratch  you."  Then 
Augustus  rises.  " He  had  never, "  he  said,  "addressed 
them  before,  but  had  always  been  content  to  mind 
his  own  business,  but  this  was  a  thing  that  he  could 
not  pass  over.  He  must  speak,  seeing  that  the  fellow 
was  a  kinsman  of  his  own.  He  has  filled  the  world 
with  massacre,"  he  went  on,  "  but  of  this  I  will  not 
speak  for  the  present;  I  will  dwell  only  on  the 
murders  with  which  he  has  polluted  his  own  house. 
He  slew  the  two  Julias,  one  of  them  his  niece,  and 

*  The  joke,  of  course,  is  that  the  changing  of  Claudius  into 
a  god  was  as  strange  a  metamorphosis  as  any  that  Ovid  had 
related. 


94  THE    DEIFICATION    OF    CLAUDIUS. 

one  his  cousin ;  *  and  he  slew  them  unheard  and 
uncondemned.  This  may  be  the  custom  upon  earth, 
but  it  is  not  our  fashion  in  heaven.  He  slew  a  whole 
crowd  of  kinsmen,  one  of  them  so  foolish  that  he 
might  have  been  Emperor  himself.  Look  at  him. 
What  a  figure  he  is !  Scarcely  human,  much  less  divine ! 
Hear  him  speak.  Can  he  utter  three  consecutive 
words?  Who  will  worship  such  a  god  as  this?  If 
this  be  the  sort  of  creature  that  you  deify,  man  will 
refuse  to  believe  that  you  are  gods  yourselves.  I 
propose  this  motion:  *  Seeing  that  this  Claudius  slew 
so  many  of  his  kindred  and  his  wife,  it  is  hereby 
commanded  that  he  quit  heaven  within  thirty  days.* " 
The  Senate  of  the  gods  divided  on  the  question,  and 
the  motion  of  Augustus  was  carried.  Thereupon 
Hermes,  the  conductor  of  souls,  was  called  in.  He 
carried  off  the  banished  ,  man  to  the  region  below, 
going  by  way  of  Rome.  As  he  approached  the  city, 
Claudius  saw  his  own  funeral,  and  heard,  with  great 
delight,  his  own  praises.  So  at  last  it  dawned  upon 
his  slow  intellect  that  he  was  really  dead.  As  he 
came  near  to  the  gates  of  the  City  of  the  Dead, 
there  went  up  a  great  shout,  Claudius  is  coming! 
And  straightway  a  crowd  of  his  victims  went  forth 
to  meet  him.     His  kinsmen  were  there  and  his  wife, 

*  (1)  The   daughter    of  Germanicus;    (2)  the  daughter  of  the 
younger  Drusus. 


THE   DEIFICATION    OF    CLAUDIUS.  95 

and  nobles  and  freedmen,  thirty  senators  among  them, 
and  three  hundred  and  fifteen  knights,  and  a  crowd 
of  common  folk  like  the  sand  on  the  sea-shore  for 
multitude.  Claudius  stood  astonished  at  the  sight. 
"Why,  the  whole  place  is  full  of  them!"  he  cried; 
and  then,  stolidly  unconscious  of  his  having  had 
anything  to  do  with  their  presence,  *And  pray  how 
did  you  come  here?"  He  is  carried  off  to  be  tried 
by  iEacus,  judge  of  the  dead.  ^Eacus  hears  the  charge 
against  him^  declines  to  listen  to  his  defence  (a 
proceeding  that  astonishes  the  audience,  but  is  pro- 
nounced to  be  but  paying  him  in  his  own  coin),  and 
finds  him  guilty.  Then  his  sentence  is  debated. 
Should  he  take  the  place  of  one  of  the  old  offend- 
ers? Sisyphus  or  Tantalus  might  well  give  place 
to  him.  But  no.  If  they  were  released,  Claudius 
might  himself  hope  for  some  future  remission  of  his 
punishment,  and  that  is  not  to  be  thought  of.  Finally 
iEacus  condemns  him  to  throw  dice  for  ever  out  of 
a  dice-box  without  a  bottom.  And  so  we  leave  him. 
It  points  the  story  to  know  that  Claudius  had  actually 
a  temple  and  a  priesthood  dedicated  to  him  in  the 
British  colony  of  Camalodunum,  and  that  this  was 
made  one  of  the  means  of  oppression  and  extortion 
which  exhausted  the  patience  of  the  natives  and  led 
to  the  bloody  revolt  of  the  Iceni  under  Boadicea. 


xm. 

THE  DEATH  OF  THE  YOUNGEB  AGRIPPINA, 

THE  domestic  tragedy  which  we  have  seen  in  the 
family  of  the  first  of  the  Caesars  repeated  itself 
with  this  last,  but  with  an  added  horror.  Livia  had 
cleared  the  way  to  the  throne  for  her  own  son,  and 
had  found  herself  repaid  with  jealousy  and  ingratitude. 
The  younger  Agrippina  set  before  herself  exactly  the 
same  aim,  and  was  equally  successful  in  attaining  it. 
What  was  the  return  she  met  with,  it  is  the  object 
of  the  present  paper  to  show. 

She  persuaded  her  half-imbecile  husband,  Claudius, 
to  set  aside  his  child.  Britannicus,  in  favour  of  her 
own  son^  Nero.  Before  Nero  had  been  two  years 
on  the  throne,  Britannicus  was  dead,  poisoned  by 
the  young  monster  who  had  been  put  into  his  place. 
Agrippina  had  no  hand  in  this  crime.  On  the  contrary, 
it  struck  her  with  dismay.  As  long  as  the  lad  was 
alive,  she  could  hold  his  rights  in  terrorem  over  the 
head   of  her    son,    and    keep    the   unruly  youth  in 


THE  DEATH  OF  THE  YOUNGER  AGRIPPINA.     97 

subjection  to  hersolf.  When  he  was  dead,  she  felt, 
says  the  historian,  that  her  main-stay  was  gone,  and 
that,  as  he  adds  with  sinister  significance,  this  was 
but  the  first  kindred  blood  that  the  young  despot 
would  shed. 

The  quarrel  between  the  two  soon  grew  furious. 
The  mother  tried  to  make  a  party  for  herself;  the 
son  stripped  her  of  all  the  honours  which  had  been 
bestowed  upon  her.  The  breach  indeed  was  not  open. 
They  still  met;  there  were  the  common  displays  of 
affection,  the  kiss  given  and  received ;  but  Agrippina 
would  have  stripped  her  son  of  the  power  he  owed 
to  her,  if  she  could ;  and  Nero  was  only  waiting  his 
opportunity  to  rid  himself  at  once  of  her  obligation 
and  his  danger. 

Poison  was  first  tried.  Three  times  it  was  ad- 
ministered, and  each  time  it  failed.  She  had  fortified 
herself,  it  is  said,  against  its  action  by  antidotes. 
The  same  story  is  told  of  more  than  one  distinguished 
personage  of  antiquity ;  but  I  fancy  this  science  does 
not  know  of  the  possibility  of  any  such  safe-guarding 
against  deadly  drugs.  Whatever  the  cause,  the  poison 
failed,  and  Nero  had  recourse  to  another  method. 
He  invited  his  mother  to  his  house  on  the  Campanian 
coast,  the  Brighton  of  Rome,  at  the  same  time  ex- 
pressing his  regret  if  there  had  been  anything  unfilial 
in  his  conduct.  He  met  her  as  she  landed — she  came 
by  sea — em'jraced  her  affectionately,  and  invited  her 


98  THE    DEAtll    OF    THE    YOUNGER  AGRIPPINA. 

to  dine  with  him.  A  vessel,  very  handsomely  equipped, 
was  at  hand.  Would  she  embark,  he  asked,  and  go 
by  water  to  his  palace?  She  declined — for  reasons 
we  shall  soon  be  able  to  understand — preferring  to 
be  conveyed  by  a  litter  along  the  shore.  Nero  was 
most  courteous  and  affectionate.  He  gave  his  mother 
the  seat  of  honour ;  he  talked  long  with  her  on  sub- 
jects grave  and  gay.  When  she  bade  him  farewell 
for  the  night,  he  kissed  her  more  warmly  than  usual, 
"so  deep  was  his  dissimulation,"  says  Tacitus,  "or 
perhaps,"  he  adds,  one  can  hardly  think  seriously, 
"  even  his  savage  heart  was  touched  by  the  thought 
that  he  should  not  see  his  mother  again.  Anyhow, 
his  victim's  suspicions  were  thoroughly  lulled.  She 
accepted  the  offer  which  she  had  refused  before,  and 
embarked. 

The  night  was  calm  and  starlit — "heaven  would 
have  it  so,"  says  the  historian,  "that  the  crime 
might  not  escape  detection ! "  Agrippina  lay  on 
cushions  in  the  stern ;  a  favourite  freed-woman 
was  with  her,  and  a  trusted  attendant  steered. 
Suddenly  the  canopy  fell.  It  had  been  weighted  with 
lead,  and  the  steersman  was  killed  by  the  blow. 
The  two  women  escaped,  saved  by  the  lofty  side  of 
the  sofa  on  which  they  lay.  Then  the  signal  was 
given  to  remove  the  bolts  which  kept  the  vessel 
together  (it  had  been  so  constructed  as  to  come  to 
pieces  when  these  were  withdrawn),  but  the  machinery 


THE  DEATH  OF  THE  YOUNGER  AGRIPPINA.     99 

did  not  work.  Then  the  rowers  tried  to  upset  the 
ship  by  throwing  their  whole  weight  on  to  one  side. 
But  all  were  not  in  the  secret.  Some  resisted  the 
movement.  The  vessel  was  upset  indeed,  but  this  was 
done  so  gradually  that  the  passengers  were  lowered 
into  the  water  without  being  hurt.  The  freed-woman, 
thinking  to  get  the  speedier  help,  cried  out  "  I  am 
the  Emperor's  mother,"  and  was  immediately  des- 
patched by  blows  from  boat-hooks  and  oars.  Agrippina 
made  no  sign  and  swam  to  shore,  escaping  with  but 
one  blow  on  the  shoulder. 

Agrippina  now  knew  perfectly  well  what  had  been 
intended,  but  her  only  hope  of  safety  was  in  not 
seeming  to  know  it.  She  sent  a  message  to  her 
son.  "  She  had  escaped,"  she  said,  "  a  terrible  danger. 
Of  course  he  would  be  very  anxious  alout  her, 
but  he  must  not  come  to  see  her,  for  she  wanted 
rest."  The  affectionate  son  was  indeed  anxious,  but 
it  was  the  escape,  not  the  danger,  that  troubled  him. 
He  pictured  to  himself  the  furious  woman,  whose 
courage  he  well  knew,  appealing  to  the  protection  of 
the  soldiers,  or  making  her  way  into  the  streets  and 
reproaching  him  with  her  wound,  and  with  the  death 
of  her  friends.  Could  Seneca  and  Burrhus,  once  his 
tutors,  now  his  counsellors,  help  him?  He  sent  for 
them  and  asked  their  advice.  Seneca  was  a  philo- 
sopher who  has  left  the  world  some  admirable  moral- 
ity; Burrhus  was  a  rough,  honest  soldier.     One  would 


100    THE  DEATH  OF  THE  YOUNGER  AGRIPPINA. 

like  to  hear  that  they  rebuked  the  murderer  to  his 
face.  But  civic  courage  had  degenerated  at  Rome 
under  a  century  of  despotism.  Tacitus  even  doubts 
whether  they  had  not  been  privy  to  the  attempt. 
Anyhow  they  stood  silent.  They  knew  that  they  could 
not  dissuade  the  wretch  from  his  purpose.  Possibly 
they  knew  that  either  the  mother  or  the  son  must 
perish.  At  last  the  philosopher  turned  to  his  soldier 
colleague,  and  asked  him  whether  the  troops  could 
be  trusted  to  do  the  deed.  Burrhus  replied  that  they 
could  not:  the  memory  of  Germanicus  lived  among 
them,  and  they  would  not  raise  a  hand  against  his 
daughter.  Let  those  who  had  failed  with  their  poison 
and  their  ship  find  some  surer  way. 

The  advice  was  taken.  The  freedman  who  had  been 
Nero's  agent  in  the  matter  hurried  with  a  band  of  assas- 
sins to  Agrippina's  villa.  The  shore  was  crowded  with  a 
curious  and  anxious  multitude.  The  news  had  spread 
that  the  Empress-mother  had  been  in  peril  of  her  life,  but 
now  was  safe;  and  friends  and  acquaintances  hurried 
to  congratulate  her,  torch  in  hand,  for  it  was  now 
the  dead  of  night.  They  fled  at  the  sight  of  the 
armed  men.  The  freedman  and  his  followers  burst 
into  the  villa,  and  made  their  way  to  the  dimly 
lighted  chamber,  where  the  unhappy  woman  sat  with 
a  single  maid.  "Do  you  leave  me  too?"  she  cried, 
as  her  solitary  attendant  rushed  from  the  room.  In 
another  minute  the  deed  wa^  done.     Years  before  she 


THE   DEATH    OF    THE    YOUNGJ^ii   AGRIPPlJlIA,.  ,       JO,! 

had  been  warned— so  the  story  ran — that  this  fvould 
be  her  end.  She  had  consulted  the  astrologers,  and 
they  had  told  her  that  her  son  would  be  Emperor, 
and  would  slay  his  mother.  "Let  him  slay,"  she 
cried,  "if  only  he  reign.' 


XIV. 

A  STRUGGLE  FOR  FREEDOM, 

IT  was  a  common  practice  for  wealthy  testators 
under  the  empire  to  leave  a  part  of  their  property 
to  the  Emperor,  and  so  to  purchase  his  forbearance 
for  the  rest.  *  Prasutagus,  the  King  of  the  Iceni,  (a 
tribe  inhabiting  what  is  now  Norfolk  and  Suffolk) 
had  thus  endeavoured  to  save  a  part  of  his  wealth 
for  his  family.  The  bribe  was  given  in  vain.  The 
agents  of  the  Emperor,  possibly  under  the  pretence 
of  making  a  valuation,  ransacked  the  palace,  and 
treated  the  widowed  queen  and  his  daughters  with 
the  cruellest  indignities. 

This  act  was  the  signal  for  the  outburst  of  a 
hatred  which  had  long  been  gathering  strength.  The 
head- quarters  of  the  Roman  power  in  Eastern  Britain 

*  Thus  Agricola  left  a  third  of  his  wealth  to  Domitian.  The 
tyrant  regarded  it  as  a  compliment,  not  knowing,  as  Agricola's 
biographer  significantly  remarks,  that  it  is  only  a  bad  Emperor 
to  whom  a  good  father  makes  such  a  bequest. 


A  STRUGGLE  FOR  FREEDOM.  103 

was  the  Colony  of  Camnlodunum  (Colchester).  A 
Raman  colonist  was,  in  theory,  a  veteran  soldier 
turned  into  a  farmer,  still  wearing  his  sword,  so  to 
speak,  while  following  the  plough.  As  a  matter  of 
tact^  he  often  lived  in  insolent  idleness  and  profligacy 
on  the  labours  of  the  native  cultivator  of  the  soil. 
Camalodunum  seems  to  have  had  many  of  these 
absentee  landlords,  who  were  as  useless  as  they 
were  mischievous.  They  had  even  neglected  the 
commonest  precautions  of  defence.  Walls  make  a 
town  less  agreeable  as  a  place  of  residence,  and  so 
walls  had  been  dispensed  with.  The  only  place 
resembling  a  fortress  was  the  temple  of  the  deiiied 
Claudius.  This  had  itself  been  made  a  curious  engine 
of  tyranny.  It  was  served  by  a  college  of  priests, 
and  the  honours  of  this  priesthood  were  forced  on 
wealthy  Britons.  An  enormous  fee  was  demanded  from 
them  for  admission,  they  had  to  support  an  expensive 
ritual,  and  to  give  extravagant  banquets. 

The  strange  portents,  of  which  lloman  history  is 
so  full,  and  which  it  is  so  difficult  either  to 
believe  or  to  disbelieve,  were  not  wanting.  The 
statue  of  Victory  fell,  apparently  without  any  cause, 
and  fell  in  such  a  way  as  to  seem  in  the  act  of 
flight.  A  sound  of  wailing  was  heard  in  the  streets. 
There  were  terrible  sights  in  the  sky  and  the  sea. 
A  more  reasonable  cause  of  fear  was  the  defenceless 
state    of   the    colony   and    the    absence   of  available 


104  A  STRUGGLE  FOR  FREEDOM. 

help.  The  main  body  of  the  legions  was  in  the 
extreme  west  of  the  island,  where  Suetonius,  the 
governor,  was  attacking  Mona  (Anglesea)  the  great 
stronghold  of  the  Druid  superstition.  This  was,  of 
course,  the  opportunity  for  which  the  British  chiefs 
had  been  waiting.  The  colonists  begged  for  help. 
The  civil  governor  sent  them  two  hundred  half-armed 
soldiers.  They  took  refuge  in  the  temple  of  Clau- 
dius. It  might  have  been  successfully  defended 
against  an  unskilful  enemy,  if  proper  precautions  had 
been  taken.  But  the  place  was  crowded  with  non- 
combatants,  who  ought  to  have  been  sent  away  long 
before.  For  this  some  excuse  might  be  urged ;  but 
the  failure  to  provide  the  outer  defence  of  a  ditch 
and  rampart  was  absolute  folly.  The  temple  held 
out  for  two  days  only.  It  was  then  taken  by  storm 
and  burnt  to  the  ground.  The  ninth  legion  was 
hurrying  up  to  the  relief  of  the  colony  when  it  was 
met  by  the  victorious  Britons.  Probably  the  officer 
in  command  had  expected  that  his  countrymen  would 
make  a  more  obstinate  resistance,  and  was  taken  by 
surprise.  Anyhow  the  result  of  the  engagement  was 
disastrous.  The  cavalry,  indeed,  escaped  to  the  near- 
est camp,  but  the  infantry  was  cut  to  pieces. 

By  this  time  Suetonius  had  returned  from  the 
west.  He  had  hurried  on  in  advance  of  his  main 
body,  and  was  not  strong  enough  to  fight.  And  yet 
to  fight  was  necessary,  if  London  was  to  be  saved. 


A   STRUGGLE    FOR   FREEDOM.  105. 

It  was  a  difficult  situation,  for  London  was  the  most 
populous  and  the  wealthiest  city  in  Britain.  The 
instincts  of  the  soldier  prevailed.  The  Roman  power 
must  be  saved  from  further  disaster,  even  at  the 
sacrifice  of  the  town.  Resisting  the  entreaties  of  the 
inhabitants,  he  evacuated  the  place.  It  fell,  without 
resistance,  into  the  hands  of  the  Britons.  Verulamium 
(St.  Albans)  shared  the  same  fate.  As  many  as  seventy 
thousand  Romans  and  friendly  Britons  were  mas- 
sacred in  the  two  towns,  for  there  was  no  thought 
either  of  giving  quarter  or  taking  prisoners.  When 
Suetonius  found  that  he  could  muster  as  many  as 
ten  thousand  troops,  he  resolved  to  fight.  His  position 
was  skilfully  chosen,  with  hills  on  either  side  and  a 
forest  in  the  rear.  The  heavy-armed  infantry,  in 
close  ranks,  occupied  the  centre,  the  skirmishers  and 
the  cavalry  were  on  the  wings.  The  Britons,  who 
had  collected  an  army  more  numerous  than  had  ever 
before  been  seen  in  the  island,  crowded  the  level 
ground  in  front  of  the  Roman  position.  On  two  rows 
of  waggons,  in  the  rear,  stood  the  wives  and  daughters 
of  the  combatants,  placed  there  at  once  to  witness 
their  valour  and  to  encourage  it. 

Tacitus  records  the  speeches  with  which,  as  ho 
tells  us,  the  rival  commanders  raised  the  courage  of 
their  followers.  The  words  which  he  attributes  to 
Boadicea  are  just  what  she  might  have  uttered — 
more  than  can  be  said  of  the  learned  oration  which 


10t>  A  STRUGGLE  FOR  FREEDOM. 

a  later  liistorian  (Dio  Cassius)  puts  into  her  mouth. 
She  reminded  them  of  the  wrongs  tliat  she  and  her 
children— they  rode  beside  her  in  the  royal  chariot — 
and  tliey  themselves  had  suffered.  The  day  of  ven- 
geance was  at  hand.  One  legion  had  been  already 
cut  to  pieces;  the  others  would  share  their  fate.  So 
tremendous  were  the  odds  that  the  enemy  would  not 
endure  the  mere  noise  of  their  onset,  much  less  their 
active  attack.  *  At  the  worst,"  so  she  concluded, 
"  we  must  conquer  or  fall.  Men  may  live  to  be 
slaves;  but  this  is  what  a  woman  has  resolved." 
Suetonius's  harangue  it  is  needless  to  give.  He  appealed 
to  the  memory  of  victory  after  victory  won  over  the 
same  enemy,  and  appealed,  it  will  be  seen,  with  a 
confidence  that  was  only  too  well  grounded. 

With  the  steady  patience  that  has  decided  so  many 
battles,  the  Romans  held  their  ground  till  the  first 
force  of  the  British  attack  was  over,  and  their  stores 
of  missiles  fell  short.  Then  there  was  a  simultaneous 
advance  along  the  whole  line.  Heavy  armed,  light 
armed,  and  cavalry  charged  together.  The  really 
active  portion  of  the  British  host  was  small,  and 
even  these  could  not  resist  the  well  armed,  highly 
disciplined  legionaries.  As  for  the  rest  of  the  mul- 
titude, it  fell  an  easy,  almost  unresisting  prey  to  the 
swords  of  the  Romans.  The  array  of  waggons  made 
flight  impossible,  and  the  slaughter  was  fearful.  As 
many   as    eighty    thousand    are    said  to  have  fallen, 


A  STRUGGLE  FOR  FREEDOM.  107 

while  the  Roman  loss  was  but  four  hundred,  and  as 
many  wounded.  Boadicea  poisoned  herself,  and  the 
most  hopeful  effort  that  Britain  had  ever  made  to 
shake  oCf  the  yoke  of  the  conqueror  ended  in  utter 
failure. 


I 


XV. 


THE  GHEAT  fire  of  ROME, 


Idero. 


rN"  A.D.  64,  when  Nero  had  been  about  ten  years 
on  the  throne,  Rome  was  visited  by  a  calamity 
which  surpassed,  by  common  consent,  all  previous 
disasters,  the  capture  and  destruction  of  the  city  by 
the  Gauls  alone  excepted.  A  fire  broke  out  on  the 
night  of  the  20th  of  July,  the  very  day,  as  the 
curious  in  such  matters  noted,  on  which,  about  four 
centuries    and    a  half  before,  the  Gauls  had  entered 


THE   GREAT   FIRE   OF  ROME.  109 

the  city.  It  lasted  five  days,  not  reckoning  a  smaller 
and  less  fatal  conflagration  which  followed  shortly 
afterwards,  and  before  any  attempts  at  rebuilding 
had  been  made.* 

The  fire  began  in  the  shops  wliich  had  grown  up 
round  the  south-eastern  end  of  the  great  Circus,  in 
the  low  ground  which  there  divided  the  Caelian  and 
the  Aventine  Hiils.  Tacitus  says  that  these  shops 
contained  "  goods  by  which  flames  are  fed/  a  dignified 
periphrasis,  the  commentators  tell  us,  for  oil,  pitch, 
resin,  sulphur,  and  the  like.  There  was  a  strong 
wind  blowing  at  tlie  time,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the 
whole  length  of  the  Circus  was  in  flames.  It  was  a 
neighbourhood  entirely  consisting  of  poor  houses,  and 
the  conflagration  swept  over  it  like  a  storm.  If 
there  had  been  a  temple  in  the  way,  or  even  a 
solidly  built  stone  house,  the  progress  of  the  fire 
would  have  been  arrested  for  a  time.  As  it  was,  it 
rushed  on  without  a  pause,  and  before  anything  could 

*  Tacitus  says  that  it  was  extinguished  *on  the  sixth  day." 
This  means,  according  to  the  Roman  reckoning,  that,  beginning 
some  time  in  the  evening  of  July  20th,  it  lasted  four  whole 
days,  and  was  put  out  some  time  in  the  course  of  July  25th. 
But  it  broke  out  again,  he  tells  us.  Suetonius'  words  are : 
"  It  raged  for  six  days  and  seven  nights."  The  great  fire  of 
London  began  on  September  2nd,  1G66,  burnt  during  the  whole 
of  the  next  three  days,  and  was  extinguished  in  the  course  of 
September  6th. 


110  THE    GREAT    FIRE    OF    ROME. 

he    done    to    check  it,  had  reached  proportions  with 
which  it    was    impossible    to  grapple. 

Tacitus  does  not  tell  us  what  direction  the  flames 
took;  but  we  may  gather  that,  at  least  at  first,  it  was 
northwesterly.  But  he  teJls  us  how  much  of  the  city  was 
destroyed.  Something  less  than  a  third  (four  out  of 
the  fourteen  districts)  was  uninjured ;  somewhat  more 
than  a  fifth  (three  districts)  was  utterly  destroyed; 
in  the  remaining  seven,  something,  but  not  much 
was  left.  Tacitus  mentions  some  of  the  buildings  that 
were  destroyed.  The  list,  both  from  w^hat  it  gives 
and  what  it  omits,  helps  us  in  a  certain  degree  to 
find  out  what  perished  and  what  escaped.  Old  Rome 
was  destroyed,  the  Rome,  that  is,  of  the  kings,  and 
the  legendary  period  that  went  before  the  kings.  The 
Temple  of  Vesta  and  the  glories  of  the  Forum  perished. 
On  the  other  hand,  we  may  infer,  as  no  mention  is 
made  of  it,  that  the  Capitol  escaped.  The  Palatine 
Hill  was  swept  bare  by  the  flames.  This,  apparently, 
was  one  of  the  last  regions  to  be  devastated.  Nero 
was  at  Antium  when  the  fire  broke  out,  and  did  not 
return  till  he  heard  that  his  own  palace  was  in  danger. 
Nothing,  it  would  seem,  could  be  done  to  save  it. 
But  the  conflagration  had  now  almost  exhausted  itself. 
The  Villa  of  M?.ecenas,  which  had  been,  in  a  way, 
taken  into  the  Imperial  residence,  was  burnt.  This 
was  on  the  Esquiline  Hill.  But  it  was  at  the  foot 
of   this    hill,   probably  the  foot  on  the  opposite  side 


THE   GREAT    FLUE    OF   ROME.  Ill 

to  the  Palatine,  that  the  fire  was  finally  checked. 
A  vast  number  of  houses  were  pulled  down,  and  the 
rest  of  the  city,  including  parts  of  the  Viminal  and 
Quirinal  Hills,  was  thus  saved. 

The  distress  caused  by  this  calamity  was  wide- 
spread and  deep.  The  suddenness  of  the  outbreak 
paralysed  not  only  all  efforts  to  arrest  the  flames,  but, 
often,  the  energy  to  escape.  There  was  barely  time 
for  the  able-bodied  to  rescue  the  weak,  the  helpless, 
the  sick.  The  narrow  and  winding  streets,  built  up, 
as  we  know  they  often  were,  to  an  enormous  height, 
made  it  very  diflicult  to  save  property  or  even  life. 
Sometimes  the  fugitives  would  seek  refuge  in  a  locality 
that  they  fondly  imagined  to  be  safe,  and  would  find 
themselves  overtaken  a  second  time.  Not  a  few,  in 
a  despair  at  having  lost  their  all,  or  broken-hearted 
at  not  having  been  able  to  rescue  children  or  parents, 
made  no  efforts  to  escape  from  the  flames,  and  actually 
perished  where  they  sat. 

Nero  was  not  wanting  in  his  duties  as  a  ruler. 
The  buildings  in  the  Field  of  Mars,  especially  the 
splendid  structures  erected  by  Agrippa,  the  son-in-law 
of  Augustus,  his  colonnades,  baths,  and  terraced 
gardens,  were  thrown  open  to  the  homeless  and  desti- 
tute multitude.  Temporary  buildings  were  erected 
for  the  same  purpose  of  sheltering  the  victims  of 
the  tire  in  the  Emperor's  own  gardens.  Provisions 
were    brought,  in  abundance  from  Ostia,  the  port  of 


112  THE   GREAT    FIRE    OF   ROME. 

Rome,  and  from  the  neighbouring  towns.  A  public 
edict  lowered  the  price  of  wheat  to  sixpence  the 
peck,  the  Government,  it  is  to  be  supposed,  reim- 
bursing the  dealers  for  the  difference  between  this 
and  the  market  price.  * 

The  people  received  his  bounty  with  but  little 
thankfulness.  The  fact  was  that  dark  suspicions  were 
abroad  about  the  origin  of  the  fire.  The  Emperor 
himself,  so  it  was  whispered,  had  commanded  it. 
He  wanted  to  have  the  glory  of  building  a  new 
Rome,  that  was  to  be  constructed  on  his  plans,  and 
of  which  he  was  to  be  the  Second  Founder.  Suetonius, 
who  was  not  born  till  some  seven  or  eight  years 
after  the  event,  speaks  with  confidence  on  the  point. 
He  writes: — "Displeased,  it  would  seem,  at  the 
unsightliness  of  the  old  buildings,  and  the  narrow, 
winding  streets,  he  set  the  city  on  fire.  This  was 
so  notorious,  that  when  some  of  his  personal  attend- 
ants were  found  with  torches  and  lighted  tow  in 
houses  that  belonged  to  him,  their  captors,  though 
men  of  the  highest  rank,  did  not  apprehend  them. 
Certain  houses  that  surrounded  his  Golden  House, 
the  site  of  which  he  particularly  desired  to  secure, 
were  actually  battered  with  large  engines — they  were 
built  with  stone  walls — and  then  burnt."    Dion  Cassius, 

*This,  it  must  be  understood,  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
gratuitous  distribution  of  corn.  It  was  meant  to  relieve  a  sudden 
pressure  on  the  indej/cndent  poor. 


thp:  great  fire  of  rome.  llo 

who  was  a  century  later,  is  equally  positive  as  to 
the  Emperor's  guilt,  but  ascribes  a  different  motive, 
which,  indeed,  Suetonius  also  mentions.  This  was  a 
frantic  desire  to  destroy  the  city  and  the  Empire 
itself.  "Happy  Priam!"  he  was  wont  to  exclaim, 
*  who  saw  Troy  and  his  own  dominion  perishing 
together!"  Dion  tells  us  of  emissaries  sent  to  kindle 
fires  in  various  places,  and  gives  us  a  graphic  story 
of  the  perplexity  of  the  inhabitants,  who  did  not 
know  where  the  trouble  with  which  they  had  to 
contend  began  or  ended.  *  The  flames  were  every- 
where," he  says,  "like  the  fires  in  a  camp."  Tacitus 
speaks  distinctly  of  men  who  threatened  violence 
against  all  who  attempted  to  extinguish  the  flames, 
and  of  others  who  were  seen  throwing  about  lighted 
brands,  and  who  cried  out  that  they  had  been  told 
to  do  so.  "  Either,"  he  goes  on,  "  they  wanted  larger 
opportunities  for  plunder,  or  they  were  acting  by 
order."  Dion  expressly  charges  the  soldiers  and 
watchmen  with  not  only  neglecting  to  extinguish, 
but  actually  spreading  the  tire,  "  for  plunder's  sake," 
he  adds. 

There  is  another  matter  in  which  Suetonius  and 
Dion  agree  in  making  a  positive  assertion,  while 
Tacitus,  who,  it  must  be  remembered,  had  all  the 
hatred  of  an  aristocrat  for  the  imperial  system, 
speaks  cautiously  of  **  report."  *  Nero,"  says  Suetonius, 
"  looked   at   the    conflagration  from  the  tower  of  the 


114  THE   GREAT   FIRE   OF   ROME. 

villa  of  Maecenas.  The  magnificence  of  the  flames 
so  delighted  him,  to  use  his  own  words,  that  he  put 
on  his  theatrical  robes,  and  sang  to  the  harp  *The 
Burning  of  Troy.'  "  Tacitus  contents  himself  with 
saying  that  the  Emperor's  munificence  was  but  little 
appreciated  because  of  the  rumour  about  the  singing. 
He  says  nothing  of  the  tower,  but  mentions  the  stage 
in  the  Palace,  from  which,  of  course,  there  could 
have  been  no  view  of  the  burning  city.  It  is  as  well 
to  imitate  the  caution  of  the  contemporary  historian. 
Nero  had  such  a  passion  for  the  monstrous*  that  he 
was  capable  of  anything,  but  there  is  no  necessity 
for  supposing  his  guilt.  In  a  city  so  circumstanced, 
a  great  fire  was  only  too  possible.  And  wherever 
any  such  catastrophe  has  occurred,  the  popular  belief 
always  turns  to  some  particular  culprit.  The  great 
fire  of  London  was  long  attributed  to  the  machinations 
of  the  Romanists.  An  inscription  on  the  monument 
which  was  erected  to  commemorate  it  expressly  charged 
them  with  the  crime.  Others  said  that  the  Dutch^ 
then  our  chief  rivals  in  commerce  and  for  the  supremacy 
of  the  seas,  were  the  incendiaries. 

Nero  certainly  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity, 
however  obtained,  of  building  a  new  city.  The  most 
splendid  erection  was  the  new  Palace;  but  even  this 
was  less  marvellous  than  the  gardens  and  park  which 
surrounded    it,   and  this,  it  must  be  remembered,  in 

*  Tacitus's  significant  phrase  is,  "  incredibilium  cupitor." 


THE    GKEAT    FlIiE    OF   ROME.  115 

the  very  centre  of  Rome.  **  It  was  not  the  jewels 
and  the  gold,  long  familiar  objects,"  says  Tacitus, 
"  quite  vulgarised  by  our  extravagance,  that  were  so 
wonderful ;  it  was  rather  the  fields  and  lakes,  with 
woods  on  one  side  to  resemble  a  wilderness,  and,  on 
the  other,  open  spaces  and  extensive  views." 

The  rest  of  the  city,  "  whatever  was  not  occupied 
by  his  mansion,"  says  the  historian  significantly,  was 
rebuilt  on  the  most  improved  plan;  not  as  it  had 
been  after  the  burning  by  the  Gauls,  without  any  regu- 
larity or  in  any  fashion,  but  with  rows  of  streets  built 
according  to  measurement,  with  broad  thoroughfares, 
and  with  a  restriction  on  the  height  of  the  houses,  with 
open  spaces,  and  the  further  addition  of  colonnades. 

The  Emperor  spared  no  expense  in  making  every- 
thing as  perfect  as  he  could.  But  the  money  tliat  he 
spent  came,  after  all,  out  of  the  pockets  cf  the  people, 
and  the  dissatisfaction,  if  not  loudly  expressed  (for 
the  time  for  open  rebellion  had  not  yet  come)  was 
strong  and  deep.  To  direct  the  popular  hatred  from 
himself,  he  had  recourse  to  a'  strange  device.  "  All 
the  lavish  gifts  of  the  Emperor,"  writes  Tacitus,  "all 
the  propitiations  of  the  gods  did  not  banish  the  sinister 
belief  that  the  conflagration  was  the  result  of  an  order. 
Consequently,  to  get  rid  of  the  report,  Nero  fastened 
the  guilt,  and  inflicted  the  most  exquisite  tortures  on 
a  class  hated  for  their  odious  crimes,  to  whom  the 
populace  gave  the  name  of  Christians.    Christus,  from 


116  THE    GREAT    EIliE    OF   ROME. 

whom  the  name  had  its  origin,  suffered  the  penalty 
of  death  during  the  reign  of  Tiberius,  at  the  hands 
of  one  of  our  procurators,  Pontius  Pilate,  and  a  most 
mischievous  superstition,  thus  checked  for  the  moment, 
again  broke  out,  not  only  in  Judea,  the  first  source 
of  the  evil,  but  even  in  Rome,  where,  indeed,  all 
things  hideous  and  shameful  from  every  part  of  the 
world  find  their  centre  and  become  popular.  Accord- 
ingly, an  arrest  was  first  made  of  all  who  pleaded 
guilty;  then^  upon  their  information,  an  immense 
multitude  was  convicted,  not  so  much  of  the  crime 
of  setting  fire  to  the  city,  as  of  hatred  against 
mankind.  Mockery  of  every  cause  was  added  to 
their  deaths.  They  were  covered  with  the  skins  of 
beasts,  and  in  this  guise  torn  to  pieces  by  dogs,  or 
they  were  nailed  to  crosses,  or  finally  burnt,  serving 
as  a  nightly  illumination  when  daylight  failed." 

In  this  strange  fashion  began  the  long  contest  that 
for  nearly  three  centuries  was  waged  between  the 
Empire  and  the  Church.  Nero  found  in  the  professors 
of  the  New  Faith  nothing  but  a  set  of  obscure  fanatics, 
and  Tacitus  echoes  faithfully  enough  the  common 
prejudice  of  his  day.  The  most  important  point  in 
what  he  says  is  his  testimony  to  the  vast  numbers 
of  those  who  were  touched  by  the  "  new  superstition. " 
Paul  was  still  alive,  and  already  a  "  vast  multitude " 
was  convicted  of  the  "crime"  of  believing  in  the 
Master  whom  he  preached. 


XVI. 

A  GHEAT  CONSPIRACY. 

BY  the  time  that  Nero  had  been  eiglit  years  upon 
the  throne  his  follies  and  cruelties  had  made,  as 
we  may  readily  believe,  many  enemies.  The  Roman 
populace,  indeed,  viewed  his  excesses,  almost  to  the 
end  of  his  reign,  with  a  sympathetic  indulgence ;  but 
the  upper  classes  regarded  him  with  an  almost  un- 
animous hatred  and  contempt.  Some  had  a  genuine 
abhorrence  of  his  vices  and  crimes;  others  felt  a 
special  disgust  at  the  silly  pranks,  the  acting  and 
harp-playing,  by  which  he  lowered  the  dignity  of 
the  ruler  of  Rome;  many  had  received  those  per- 
sonal affronts  which  supply  even  more  cogent  motives 
than  the  indignation  of  the  moralist  or  the  pride  of 
the  patriot.  And  as  the  Emperor  fell  more  and  more 
into  disfavour  with  all  that  was  best  and  noblest  in 
Rome,  all  eyes  were  turned  on  a  man  who  seemed 
to  be  not  unworthy  to  occupy  the  throne  w^hich  he 
had  disgraced. 


118  A   GREAT   CONSPIRACY. 

Caius  Calpurnius  Piso  was  one  of  tlio  most  popular 
men  in  Rome,  and,  though  not  of  a  character 
that  wholly  approved  itself  to  sterner  judges,  not 
wholly  unworthy  of  his  popularity.  He  did  not  be- 
long to  the  highest  nobility,  the  class  still  represented 
by  the  Fabii  and  the  Scipios^  but  his  family,  origin- 
ally plebeian,  had  long  been  distinguished  in  the 
State.  A  Piso  had  served  with  some  credit  in  the 
Second  Punic  War :  the  head  of  the  house  in  the  next 
generation  had  attained  the  dignity  of  the  Consul- 
ship. For  the  two  centuries  and  a  half  that  followed, 
the  family  had  produced  an  abundance  of  soldiers  and 
statesmen.  The  name  occurs  fourteen  times  in  the 
list  of  Consuls.  A  daughter  of  the  house  was  the 
famous  Calpurnia  who  became  the  second  wife  of  the 
Dictator  Julius;  the  brother  of  this  lady  filled  the 
office  of  Prefect  of  the  City  during  twenty  years  of 
the  reign  of  Tiberius,  arid  died  in  extreme  old  age 
without  either  forfeiting  the  favour  of  his  suspicious 
master  or  the  good- will  of  his  countrymen.  Cal- 
purnius Piso  had  a  handsome  face  and  a  command- 
ing presence;  he  was  a  wealthy  man  who  knew 
how  to  give  away;  his  courtesy  was  unfailing.  He 
had  a  great  gift  of  eloquence,  and  was  careful  to 
exercise  it,  not  in  conducting  prosecutions,  an  occupa- 
tion to  which  a  certain  stigma  was  attached,  but 
in  defending  the  accused.  And  he  was  not  so  strict 
in    his    habits    of  life  as  to  rouse  the  shame  or  the 


A   GREAT    CONSPIRACY.  119 

suspicion  of  a  generation  devoted  to  pleasure.  He 
loved  splendour  and  display;  he  could  on  occasion 
be  frivolous;  his  code  of  morals  was  lax.  No  one 
needed  to  dread  that  with  Piso  on  the  throne,  a 
life  of  rigorous  virtue  would  become  the  fashion  at 
court. 

Piso  had  no  reason  to  love  the  Caesars.  Caligula, 
invited  to  his  wedding  feast,  had  robbed  him  of  his 
wife,  and  then  sent  him  into  exile.  But  the  idea  of 
conspiracy  had  never  occurred  to  him.  He  was  not 
ambitious;  he  was  even  indolent,  though  certainly 
not  wanting  in  courage.  But  when  the  succession 
to  the  throne  was  offered  to  him,  he  did  not  refuse ; 
thenceforward  he  became  the  head,  though,  it  is  true, 
only  the  nominal  head,  of  the  movement. 

One  of  the  leading  members  of  the  conspiracy  was 
Plautius  Lateranus,  probably  a  kinsman  of  the  distin- 
guished soldier  who  had  conquered  Southern  Britain 
for  Claudius,  a  man  of  high  character,  free  from 
self-seeking  aims,  and  solely  anxious  to  rid  his  country 
of  a  tyrant  who  was  humiliating  and  ruining  it. 
Another  was  Faenius  Rufus,  one  of  the  joint  prefects 
of  the  Praetorian  Guard,  a  man  of  honorable  life, 
who  had  gained  some  distinction  as  a  soldier,  but 
now  found  his  position  endangered  by  the  arts 
and  calumnies  of  Nero's  odious  favorite  Sophro- 
nius  Tigellinus.  The  Prefect  was  ably  seconded 
by    some    of  his    subordinate   officers    among  whom 


120  A   GREAT    CONSPIRACY. 

may  be  mentioned  Siibrius,  who  held  the  rank  of 
Tribune,  about,  equivalent  to  that  of  Colonel,  and 
Aspers  a  centurion  or  captain.  A  more  distinguished 
name  is  that  of  the  poet  Lucan.  Tacitus  tells  us  that 
his  motive  was  revenge.  The  Emperor,  himself  a 
versifier  of  some  skill,  was  jealous  of  the  superior 
reputation  of  the  Poet  of  the  Pharsalia,  and  had 
forbidden  him  to  recite  in  public.  This  was  the  wrong 
for  which  he  sought  retaliation.  That  he  had  no 
very  exalted  motive  we  are  inclined  to  believe,  when 
we  find  that  while  the  Emperor  was  still  friendly, 
the  poet  thought  no  flattery  too  fulsome  for  him, 
and  when  we  hear  the  deplorable  story  of  his  cowardice 
in  the  hour  of  trial.  The  plot  was  already  formed  in 
the  summer  of  64,  the  year  of  the  Great  Fire  of  Rome. 
One  of  the  most  energetic  of  the  conspirators, 
the  Tribune  Subrius,  proposed  to  kill  the  Emperor 
with  his  own  hand.  One  opportunity  offered  itself 
when  Nero,  availing  himself  of  the  lurid  background 
supplied  by  the  conflagration,  was  singing  to  his 
own  music  in  one  of  the  chambers  of  the  Palace 
"  The  Sack  of  Troy, "  another  shortly  afterwards, 
when  the  Palace  itself  had  caught  fire,  and  Nero, 
in  the  confusion  of  the  scene,  had  become  sepa- 
rated from  his  bodyguard.  The  attempt  was  post- 
poned, whether  by  Subrius'  own  desire,  or  by  the 
wish  of  his  comrades,  we  cannot  say.  Tacitus  makes 
on    the    occasion  the  profound  remark  that  it  is  the 


i 


Epicharis  had  somehow  become  acquainted  with  the  scheme. 


A    GREAT    CONSPIRACY.  121 

anxiety  for  personal  safety  that  makes  these  attempts 
against  the  powerful  so  often  fail. 

No  further  step  was  taken  for  several  months.  The 
conspiracy  continued  to  extend,  and  the  secret  was 
kept  with  wonderful  success.  A  Greek  freedwoman 
of  the  name  of  Epicharis  had  somehow  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  scheme,  and  had  thrown  herself  into 
it  with  energy.  There  is  something  mysterious  about 
the  intervention  of  this  woman.  The  historian  says 
he  does  not  know  how  she  became  privy  to  the  plot. 
He  was  equally  ignorant  of  her  motives,  simply 
saying  that  up  to  that  time  she  had  shown  no  thought 
or  care  for  higher  things.  *  - 

Epicharis  became  impatient  of  the  procrastination 
of  her  fellow  conspirators.  After  urging  them  in 
vain  to  speedy  action,  she  determined  to  take  the 
matter  into  her  own  hands.  Looking  about  for  a 
place  where  she  might  commence  operations,  she 
thought  that  she  had  found  one  in  the  naval  station 
at  Misenum.  Among  the  captains  of  the  ships  of 
war  that  formed  the  squadron  of  the  Lower  or  Tuscan 
Sea  was  one  Volusius  Procuhis — he  had  been  an 
accomplice  of  the  Emperor  in  the  murder  of  his 
mother  Agrippina,  probably  as  one  of  the  subordinate 

*  I  have  suggested  elsewhere  that  Epicharis  may  have  been 
a  freed-woman  of  Octavia,  the  unhappy  wife  whom  Nero  did  to 
death  so  cruelly,  and  that  her  action  in  this  matter  was  suggested 
by  the  desire  of  vengeance. 


122  A    GREAT    CONSPIRACY. 

officers  of  the  yacht  in  which  she  made  her  last 
voyage.  * 

He  had  received,  it  would  seem,  promotion,  but  not 
so  rapid  or  so  great  as  his  services  seemed  to  him  to 
demand.  Epicharis  made  the  acquaintance  of  this 
Proculus,  or,  it  may  be,  renewed  an  intimacy  that  had 
existed  at  some  time.  The  man  enlarged  on  his  services 
to  the  Emperor,  compjained  of  Nero's  ingratitude,  and 
hinted,  not  obscurely,  at  a  cherished  purpose  of  revenge. 
He  boasted  of  his  influence  among  his  colleagues; 
many,  he  declared,  would  join  him  if  he  gave  the 
word ;  and  it  would  be  easy  to  dispose  of  the  Emper- 
or, who  was  fond  of  making  beat  excursions  in  the 
neighbourhood,  and  was  therefore  often  without  any 
body-guard.  Talk  so  openly  treasonable  encouraged 
Epicharis  to  speak  plainly.  She  enlarged  on  the 
enormities  of  Nero,  who  had  degraded  the  Senate  and 
ruined  the  people.  The  time  of  his  punishment  was 
come,  she  continued,  and  there  were  hands  prepared 
to  inflict  it.  If  Proculus  was  ready  to  exert  himself 
in  the  cause,  and  to  commend  it  to  the  most  ener- 
getic of  his  comrades,  he  might  certainly  look  for  a 
fltting  reward.  All  this  indicated,  not  obscurely,  that 
a  conspiracy  against  Nero  was  on  foot.  Epicharis, 
however,  had  the  prudence  not  to  mention  any 
names. 

She   had   mistaken   her  man.   In  fact  the  past  of 

*  See  p.  98. 


A    GREAT    CONSPIRACY.  123 

Proculus  had  been  sucli  that  he  had  everything  to 
fear  and  nothing  to  hope  from  a  new  regime,  A  man 
who  had  taken  part  in  the  murder  of  Agrippina  could 
not  escape  the  punishment  which  was  to  fall  on  the 
chief  mover  in  that  crime.  He  must  have  seen  this 
himself,  for  he  went  straight  to  Nero,  and  told  him 
the  whole  story.  Epicharis  was  arrested,  and  con- 
fronted with  the  informer.  But  her  prudence  in 
concealing  the  names  of  the  conspirators  stood  her 
in  good  stead.  Proculus  could  give  no  details,  and 
she  met  his  Btory  with  a  flat  denial.  As  nothing  had 
been  proved,  no  further  steps  were  taken.  But  Nero's 
suspicions  were  roused.  The  accusation  had  not  in- 
deed been  proved  but  it  nn'ght  be  true  nevertheless. 
He  ordered  Epicharis  to  be  kept  in  custody. 

The  news  of  what  had  happened  convinced  the  con- 
spirators of  the  necessity  for  immediate  action.  A 
meeting  was  held,  and  it  was  proposed  to  assassin- 
ate the  Emperor  at  Baiae,  a  well-known  watering 
place  which  he  was  in  the  habit  of  frequenting..  His 
favorite  residence  in  this  place  was  a  villa  belonging 
to  Piso.  Here  it  was  his  custom  to  throw  off  the 
cumbersome  trappings  of  state,  dispensing  in  partic- 
ular with  the  presence  of  his  body-guard,  when  he 
went  to  the  bath  or  sat  down  to  dinner.  But  Piso 
refused  to  countenance  the  scheme.  He  refused  to 
allow,  as  he  put  it,  such  a  profanation  of  the  rights 
of  hospitality,  such  an  insult  to  the  gods  of  the  home. 


124  A    GREAT    CONSPIRACY. 

*  What  we  do,"  he  cried,  "we  do  for  the  sake  of 
our  country;  let  us  slay  the  tyrant  in  the  palace 
which  he  has  reared  out  of  the  spoils  of  his  coun- 
trymen, *  or  in  the  streets  of  Rome."  Piso's  real 
reason  for  refusing  his  consent  to  this  hopeful  scheme 
was  quite  different.  He  was  afraid  of  a  powerful 
rival  in  the  succession  to  the  throne  in  the  person 
of  Lucius  Silanus,  a  man  whose  claims,  he  could  not 
but  feel,  were  superior  to  his  own.  He  was  a  direct 
descendant  of  Augustus  f  and  a  man  of  the  highest 
character. 

It  was  not  improbable  that  if  he  (Piso)  should  be 
discredited  by  an  act  which  seemed  to  savour  of  im- 
piety, the  choice  of  those  who  stood  outside  the  con- 
spiracy might  fall  to  a  claimant  so  distinguished. 
Another  suggestion,  leading  practically  to  the  same 
result,  was  that  Piso  dreaded  the  republican  procli- 
vities of  Vestinus,  one  of  the  consuls  of  the  year. 
Vestinus  was  a  man  of  energy,  and  he  might  be  able 
to  bring  about  a  restoration  of  the  old  constitution, 
under  which  he  would  himself  in  virtue  of  his  office, 

*  It  has  been  observed  that  this  could  not  have  been  actu- 
ally said  by  Piso,  the  new  palace  which  Nero  took  the  oppor- 
tunity of  building  in  the  space  cleared  by  the  Great  Fire  of 
Rome  having  been  at  this  time  not  more  than  begun. 

t  He  was  the  grandson  of  Aemilia  Lepida,  herself  the  grand- 
daughter of  Julia  the  Younger,  a  grand-daughter  of  Augustus. 
He  and  Nero  were  the  last  of  the  direct  descendants  of  Augustus. 


A   GREAT   CONSPIRACY.  125 

be  called  to  play  a  distinguished  part.  Vestinus,  it 
should  be  observed,  was  not  privy  to  the  plot,  and 
would  not  therefore  be  bound  by  any  agreement 
to  which  the  conspirators  might  have  come. 

The  resolution  ultimately  taken  waste  assassinate  the 
Emperor  during  the  festivities  of  the  Games  of  Ceres.  * 
The  Emperor  did  not  often  leave  his  palace  but  he 
would  be  sure  to  visit  the  circus  on  one  or  other  of 
the  two  days  on  which  the  Games  were  held  in  that 
place,  and  it  would  be  easy  to  approach  him  in  the 
midst  of  the  general  gaiety  of  the  show.  It  was 
arranged  that  Lateranus  should  seek  an  audience  for 
the  purpose  of  petitioning  for  a  grant  of  money  from 
the  Emperor's  purse  towards  relieving  his  embarrass- 
ments. He  was  to  fall  on  his  knees,  and  by  a  seeming 
accident  throw  the  Emperor  to  the  ground.  His  huge 
strength  and  stature  would  make  it  easy  for  him  to 
prevent  the  victim  rising  again.  The  military  members 
of  the  conspiracy,  and  any  others  who  might  feel  their 
courage  equal  to  the  occasion,  were  then  to  run  up 
and  finish  the  work.     Piso  was  to  be  in  waiting  mean- 

*  These  were  celobratcci  on  the  six  days  between  April 
12th.  and  19th.  On  the  first  and  last  of  these  days  the  games 
were  held  in  the  Circus.  It  may  be  observed  that  if  the  con- 
spiracy was  first  formed  before  the  Great  Fire,  which  began  on 
the  19th.  of  July,  it  must  have  been  kept  a  secret  for  about 
nine  months,  a  very  remarkable  thing,  considering  the  number 
of  persons  engaged  in  it. 


126  A    GREAT    CONSPIRACY. 

while  at  the  temple  of  Ceres,  which  was  in  the  near 
neighbourhood  of  the  Circus.  As  soon  as  the  deed 
had  been  perpetrated,  Faenius,  the  Prefect  of  the 
Praetorians,  with  his  officers,  was  to  carry  him  to 
the  camp,  and  claim  from  the  troops  a  recognition 
of  the  new  Emperor.  According  to  solne  accounts 
it  was  arranged  that  Antonia,  the  sole  survivor  of 
the  children  of  Claudius,  should  accompany  him.  * 

Among  the  conspirators  was  a  certain  Flavins 
Scaevinus  described  by  the  historian  as  an  indolent 
debauchee,  whose  complicity  in  a  dangerous  enter- 
prise, so  alien  was  it  to  all  his  habits  of  life,  sur- 
prised everyone  that  knew  him.  Scaevinus  demanded 
that  he  should  have  the  honour  and  privilege  of 
striking  the  first  blow  against  the  tyrant,  and  for 
some  reason  of  which  we  have  no  knowledge,  except 
that  he  had  the  rank  of  a  senator,  the  demand  was 
conceded.  On  this  he  commenced  a  series  of  almost 
incredibly  foolish  acts.     He  took  down  from  the  walls 

*  Tacitus  doubts  whether  Antonia  would  have  been  willing 
to  embark  on  so  doubtful  and  dangerous  an  enterprise,  and 
whether  Piso  would  have  given  his  consent.  The  presence  of 
Antonia  on  such  an  occasion  would  have  meant  that  Piso  was 
to  marry  her,  first,  of  course,  divorcing  his  wife  in  order  to 
strengthen  his  position  by  a  marriage  with  a  princess  of  the 
Imperial  house.  "  It  may  be,"  Tacitus  goes  on,  "  that  the  passion 
for  power  is  stronger  than  all  other  emotions."  It  is  certain 
that  Antonia  was  put  to  death  by  Nero  on  a  charge  of  having 
meddled  in  revolutionary  schemes. 


A   GREAT    CONSPIRACY.  127 

of  the  Temple  of  Fortune  at  Ferentinum  *  with  which 
his  family  had  probably  some  connection,  a  dagger 
presented,  it  may  be,  by  an  ancestor  as  a  votive 
offering.  This  he  ostentatiously  carried  about  with 
him,  hinting  that  it  was  destined  for  some  great 
achievement.  On  the  day  before  that  on.  which  the 
deed  was  to  be  done,  he  handed  the  weapon  to  a 
freedman  of  the  name  of  Milichus  with  an  injunction 
that  it  should  be  sharpened.  Before  doing  this  he 
had  executed  a  new  will.  This  done,  he  sat  down 
to  a  meal  of  more  than  usual  magnificence,  and  the 
meal  ended,  sent  for  his  favorite  slaves,  enfranchised 
some,  and  made  handsome  presents  of  money  to 
others.  His  manner  was  sad  and  depressed;  and 
though  he  made  an  effort  to  talk  gaily,  it  was  evident 
he  had  some  very  serious  matter  on  his  mind.  His 
next  proceeding  was  to  order  the  freedman  to  prepare 
bandages  for  wounds,  and  the  appliances  by  which 
blood  is  staunched.  These  strange  proceedings  roused 
the  suspicions  of  Milichus,  though  it  is  possible  the 
man  had  already  some  knowledge  of  the  plot.  Anyhow 
he  now  began  to  speculate  on  the  gain  he  might  make 
out  of  the  affair.  A  handsome  price  in  wealth  or 
influence  might  be  made  out  of  the  information  which 
he  had  at  his  command.  In  comparison  with  this  his 
patron's    life    and  his  own  debt  of  gratitude  for  the 

*  Probably  the  Etrurian  town  of  that  name,  now  Ferento  near 
Vitcrbo. 


128  A    GREAT    CONSPIRACY. 

freedom  received  at  his  hands  went  for  little.  For 
a  while,  however,  he  hesitated;  for  a  freedrnan  to 
betray  his  patron  was  regarded  as  an  atrocious  crime. 
The  advice  of  his  wife,  however,  determined  him. 
"  Other  freedmen  and  slaves,"  she  said,  "  were  present 
and  saw  all  that  you  saw.  It  will  be  no  good  to 
Scaevinus  for  you  to  keep  silence.  Anticipate  all 
other  informers,  and  you  will  secure  your  reward." 
The  day  had  dawned  before  the  freedrnan  had  over- 
come his  scruples.  Then  he  hurried,  accompanied 
by  his  wife,  who  was  unwilling,  it  would  seem,  to  let 
him  out  of  her  sight,  to  the  Servilian  Gardens,  where 
Nero  was  then  residing.  At  first  he  was  refused 
admittance ;  but,  finally,  on  his  urgent  representation 
that  he  was  the  bearer  of  information  of  the  last 
importance,  was  taken  to  Epaphroditus,  one  of  the 
Emperor's  favorite  freedmen.  To  him  he  told  his 
story,  and  the  freedman,  recognising  its  im.portance, 
introduced  him  to  Nero.  By  way  of  giving  some  proof 
of  the  truth  of  his  tale,  he  produced  the  actual  dagger 
which  he  had  been  ordered,  he  said,  to  sharpen. 
Scaevinus  was  promptly  arrested,  brought  into  Nero's 
presence  and  confronted  with  his  accuser.  He  was 
prepared  with  a  reply.  "  The  dagger, "  he  said,  "  is 
a  weapon  which  has  been  long  regarded  in  my  family 
with  great  veneration.  I  have  been  accustomed  to 
keep  it  in  my  bed-chamber.  The  freedman  has  fraudu- 
lently    taken     it    away,    and  has  now  invented  this 


A   GREAT    CONSPIRACY.  129 

story  about  it.  As  for  the  will  it  is  not  the  first 
by  any  means  I  have  made.  I  do  it  just  as  the  idea 
occurs  to  me.  1  have  often  given  presents  of  money 
to  some  of  my  slaves,  and  set  others  free;  if  I  did 
so  yesterday  on  a  larger  scale  than  usual,  it  was  on 
account  of  the  embarrassments  in  which  I  find  myself. 
My  means  are  greatly  reduced;  my  creditors  are 
pressing  me,  and  I  greatly  fear  that  my  will  might 
not  be  held  good  in  respect  either  of  the  emancipations 
or  the  legacies.  My  meal  was,  I  confess,  on  a  somewhat 
extravagant  scale:  but  this  is  my  way;  I  enjoy  myself 
in  a  fashion  that  stern  moralists  do  not  quite  approve. 
As  for  the  bandages  for  wounds  that  is  a  mere  fiction, 
invented  because  Milichus,  after  playing  the  part  of  an 
informer  was  also  to  perform  that  of  a  witness." 

This  was  Scaevinus'  tale,  and  he  told  it  with  such 
firmness  that  it  gained  general  credit.  When  he  turned 
on  his  accuser,  inveighing  against  him  as  a  wicked  and 
unscrupulous  fellow  who  would  not  hesitate  to  invent 
a  false  charge,  he  carried  his  hearers  with  him.  Mili- 
chus was  confounded,  but  his  wife  came  to  his  rescue. 
"Ask  Scaevinus,"  she  suggested,  "  what  was  the  sub- 
ject discussed  at  his  frequent  interviews  with  Antonius 
Natalis,  and  whether  both  he  and  his  friends  are  not 
on  intimate  terms  with  Piso  ?  "  Natalis,  well-known 
to  be  Piso's  most  trusted  agent,  was  promptly  sent  for. 
He  and  Scaevinus  were  separately  examined;  as  their 
accounts   did   not  tally,  they  were  formally  arrested 


130  A  GEEAT   CONSPIRACY. 

and  threatened  with  torture,  torture  being  legal  when 
the  accused  was  charged  with  compassing  the  death 
of  the  Emperor.  Their  fortitude  gave  way.  Natalis 
was  the  first  to  turn  informer.  He  was  deeper  in  the 
secrets  of  the  conspiracy  than  his  companion,  and 
better  able  to  ply  the  infamous  trade.  He  named 
Piso  first  and  then  Seneca,  either  because  he  had 
actually  carried  messages  from  Piso  to  him,  or  because 
he  knew  that  Nero  would  gladly  hear  any  evidence 
that  might  involve  the  guilt  of  his  old  tutor.  When 
Scaevinus  heard  that  Natalis  had  confessed,  he  made 
haste  to  secure  his  own  safety,  and  gave  the  names 
of  the  other  accomplices.  Among  these  were  the  poet 
Lucan,  andSenecio,who  had  long  enjoyed  the  Emperor's 
intimate  friendship.  At  first  they  strenuously  denied 
the  charge.  But  a  promise  of  pardon  broke  down 
their  firmness.  Each  with  disgraceful  weakness  gave 
up  the  names  of  their  dearest  friends,  Lucan  actually 
informing  against  his  own  mother. 

Then  Nero  remembered  the  charge  which  Proculus 
had  brought  against  Epicharis.  The  woman  was  brought 
into  court,  and  tortured.  But  the  cruellest  pains 
could  not  wring  a  word  from  her  lips.  She  met  all 
questions  with  an  obstinate  denial.  As  she  was  being 
brought  from  her  dungeon  on  the  following  day,  she 
contrived  to  fasten  a  bandage  round  her  neck,  and 
then,  suddenly  springing  from  the  chair  in  which 
she  was  being  carried,  to  strangle  herself.  Her  frame 


A   GREAT    CONSPIRACY.  131 

was  doubtless  already  enfeebled  by  the  severity  of 
the  sufferings  which  she  had  already  undergone.  The 
historian  bitterly  contrasts  the  noble  courage  of  the 
freedwoman  with  the  weakness  and  cowardice  of 
the  high-born  Senators  who  had  not  scrupled  to 
betray  their  nearest  and  dearest.  She,  under  the 
pressure  of  the  fiercest  torments,  had  done  her  best 
to  save  men  who  were,  for  the  most  part,  utter 
strangers  to  her.  They,  before  they  had  felt  a  touch  of 
the  rack,  had  hurried  to  give  up  to  death  kinsfolk 
and  friends. 

Nero  terrified  at  the  multitude  of  the  names 
which  he  heard  from  the  informers,  doubled  his 
guards.  Rome  was  in  a  state  of  siege.  The  walls 
were  guarded  by  troops;  the  port  of  Ostia  and  the 
river  were  strictly  watched.  The  suburbs  and  the 
neighbouring  towns  were  continually  visited  by  soldiers, 
especially  Germans,  for  the  Emperor  was  more  dis- 
posed to  trust  barbarians  than  his  own  countrymen. 
Whole  troops  of  chained  prisoners  were  dragged 
through  the  streets  of  the  city,  and  kept  in  waiting 
outside  the  Emperor's  residence.  When  they  attempted 
to  defend  themselves,  they  found  that  the  very 
slightest  evidence  was  sufficient  to  condemn  them. 
If  they  had  been  seen  to  smile  when  they  saw  a 
conspirator,  if  they  had  uttered  a  chance  word  which 
could  be  twisted  into  a  suspicious  meaning,  if  they 
had    dined    with  a  guilty  person,  or  sat  by  his  side 


132  A  GREAT   CONSPIRACY. 

at  the  Games,  it  was  enough  to  prove  the  charge. 
Nero  and  his  infamous  minister  Tigellinus  conducted 
the  cross-examination  with  a  savage  persistence, 
and  were  assisted  by  the  Prefect  Faenius,  himself, 
as  will  be  remembered,  a  prominent  conspirator.  No 
informer  had  yet  mentioned  his  name,  and  in  the  des- 
perate hope  of  escaping,  he  pressed  his  former  asso- 
ciates with  incessant  questions.  The  tribune  Subrius 
was  in  attendance  on  him,  and  with  a  significant 
gesture  enquired  whether  he  should  not  cut  down  the 
Emperor  as  he  sat  on  the  judgment-seat.  This  ener- 
getic soldier  had  already  his  hand  on  the  hilt  of  his 
sword  when  the  Prefect  checked  the  impulse. 

Already  another  chance  had  been  lost.  The  news 
of  the  treachery  of  Milichus  had  been  carried  without 
delay  to  the  conspirators.  The  more  energetic  among 
them  urged  Piso  to  act  at  once.  *  Go,  "  they  said, 
"to  the  Forum  and  address  the  people,  or  to  the 
camp  and  make  an  appeal  to  the  soldiers.  We  will 
second  you  and  others  will  soon  follow  our  example. 
Set  the  affair  in  motion  and  it  will  be  half  accom- 
plished. Nero  has  made  no  provision  against  such 
an  attempt.  Even  brave  men  are  overwhelmed  by  a 
sudden  attack.  Where  will  that  stage-player,  with 
only  Tigellinus  and  his  profligate  train  to  back  him, 
find  means  to  resist?  Things  that  seem  impossible 
while  you  sit  still  are  often  achieved  by  the  mere 
effort.     As  for  hoping  that  where  so  many  are  in  the 


A   GREAT   CONSPIRACY.  133 

plot  the  secret  will  be  kept,  it  is  absurd.  The  threats 
of  torture,  the  promise  of  reward,  will  break  down 
all  resolves.  In  a  few  hours  Nero's  creatures  will  be 
here.  They  will  bind  you;  they  will  put  you  to  a 
shameful  death.  How  much  more  noble  to  stand  or 
fall  with  your  country,  to  perish  as  the  champion  of 
freedom.  The  soldiers  may  fail  you,  the  populace 
may  desert;  but  you  will  at  least  make  posterity 
respect  you."  All  this  fell  upon  deaf  ears.  Piso  re- 
tired to  his  house,  and  prepared  to  meet  his  fate  with 
courage.  The  executioners  soon  came.  Nero  unable 
to  trust  the  veterans  with  whom  Piso,  he  knew,  was 
popular,  had  sent  some  recruits  to  do  the  bloody 
deed.  The  victim  was  permitted  to  put  an  end  to 
his  life  by  opening  the  veins  in  his  arms.  Lateranns 
was  punished  next.  He  was  hurried  off  from  his 
home  without  being  allowed  to  bid  farewell  to  his 
fcimily.  The  tribune  who  slew  him  was  actually  one 
of  the  conspirators;  but  Lateranus  met  his  fate  in 
dignified  silence  without  a  word  of  reproach  to  his 
executioner. 

Seneca  perished  the  same  day.  I  have  described  his 
last  hours  in  the  next  chapter.  The  Prefect  Faenius 
did  not  long  escape  detection.  Scaevinus  turned  upon 
him  with  the  words:  "No  one  knows  the  truth  bet- 
ter than  you.  Surely  you  ought  to  confess  your  guilt 
to  so  kind  a  prince"  The  Prefect  could  hardly 
stammer   out  a   few  words  of  defiance.     Other  wit- 


134  A   GREAT   CONSPIRACY. 

nesses  were  found  to  corroborate  Scaevinus,  and  he 
was  promptly  seized  and  before  long  executed. 

The  Tribune  Subrius  was  the  next  victim.  At  first 
he  denied  the  charge:  *Am  I  likely,"  he  cried,  "to 
have  cast  in  my  lot  with  such  a  set  of  cowards?" 
When  the  evidence  against  him  proved  to  be  too 
strong,  he  confessed  his  share  in  the  conspiracy,  and 
gloried  in  what  he  had  done.  Nero  asked  him  why 
he  had  broken  his  soldier's  oath  of  fidelity.  "  Because 
I  hated  you.  No  one  among  your  soldiers  could 
have  been  more  loyal  to  you  while  you  deserved 
regard.  But  I  began  to  hate  you  when  you  murdered 
your  mother  and  your  wife,  when  you  exhibited  yourself 
as  a  chariot-driver,  an  actor,  an  incendiary. "  Nero  was 
confounded  by  this  freedom  of  speech;  ready  to  com- 
mit crime,  he  had  never  been  used  to  hear  it  prop- 
erly characterised.  A  fellow  tribune  was  ordered 
to  administer  the  death-stroke.  The  grave  that 
was  to  receive  his  corpse  had  already  been  dug.  **  It 
is  too  shallow  and  too  narrow,"  he  cried,  "even  this 
you  could  not  do  properly.**  The  executioner  bade 
him  hold  out  his  head  bravely.  "I  only  hope,"  said 
the  dauntless  soldier,  "  that  you  will  strike  as 
bravely  as  I  shall  submit." 

Lucan  who  had  been  permitted  to  open  his  veins, 
breathed  his  last  repeating  some  of  his  own  verses, 
in  which  he  had  described  a  soldier  bleeding  to 
death. 


A  GREAT   CONSPIRACY.  135 

The  Great  Conspiracy  was  crushed.  If  the  ener- 
getic Subrius  had  been  in  the  place  of  the  indolent 
Piso  it  would  almost  as  certainly  have  succeeded, 
and  possibly  would  have  spared  the  world  the  year 
of  bloodshed  which  followed,  four  years  later,  the 
fall  of  Nero. 


xvn. 

THE  LAST  HOUBS  OF  A  PHILOSOPHER. 

THAVE  called  Seneca  (for  it  is  of  him  that  I  am 
writing),  a  philosopher,  but  it  has  often  been  doubted 
whether  he  is  entitled  to  the  name.  In  his  early 
manhood  he  was  banished  to  Sardinia,  and  he  showed 
a  deplorable  want  of  fortitude  in  bearing  the  depriva- 
tions of  exile.  He  contrived  somehow  to  amass 
enormous  wealth,  and  he  has  been  accused  by  one 
historian,  who,  however,  is  obviously  unfair,  of  amassing 
it  by  exactions  which  roused  a  province  to  revolt. 
It  is  unjust,  of  course,  to  judge  a  tutor  by  the  crimes 
w^hich  his  pupil  may  commit,  especially  if  that  pupil 
comes  of  a  race  tainted  by  madness  and  crime,  and 
is  subjected  to  the  awful  temptations  of  despotic 
power.  Still  we  have  seen  Seneca,  as  Nero's  accom- 
plice in  crime,  do  what  a  good  man  would  sooner 
have  perished  than  be  privy  to.  On  the  other  hand, 
there    is    much    that  might  be  argued,  did  time  and 


TUE   LAST   HOUftS    OF   A    PHILOSOPHER.  137 

space  allow,  in  Seneca's  favonr.  Anyhow,  he  died 
with  courage  and  dignity.  It  may  be  said  indeed 
that  this  was  an  occasion  to  which  a  Roman,  whatever 
his  character,  was  seldom  unequal.  Still  there  was 
something  more  than  mere  stolidity  or  bravado  in 
the  way  in  which  Seneca  bore  himself. 

A  formidable  conspiracy  against  Nero,  described 
in  the  last  chapter,  had  been  detected  and  crushed. 
Among  the  accused  was  Seneca.  Probably  he  knew 
of  the  conspiracy,  but  he  had  carefully  abstained  from 
taking  any  part  in  it.  The  only  thing  even  alleged 
against  him  was  the  statement  of  one  of  the  informers 
that  Piso  had  sent  him  (the  informer)  to  Seneca  with 
a  complaint  that  he  was  not  allowed  to  see  him, 
and  that  Seneca  had  replied  that  frequent  interviews 
would  not  be  for  the  benefit  of  either  of  them,  adding 
that  his  own  life  depended  on  the  safety  of  Piso. 
An  officer  was  sent  to  interrogate  the  accused  man, 
who  had  that  day  returned  from  one  of  his  seats  in 
Campania  to  a  villa  in  the  suburbs.  The  house  was 
surrounded  with  troops,  and  the  philosopher,  who  was 
dining  with  his  wife  and  two  friends,  was  examined. 
He  allowed  that  the  informer's  account  was  true  to 
a  certain  extent.  Piso  had  complained  of  not  being 
allowed  to  see  him,  and  he  had  pleaded  in  excuse 
his  feeble  health  and  his  love  of  quiet.  The  other 
remark  he  did  not  acknowledge.  The  officer  carried 
back  this  answer  to  his  employers.    Asked  whether 


138      THE  LAST  HOURS  OF  A  PHILOSOPHER. 

Seneca  seemed  to  be  thinking  of  suicide  — the  common 
death  of  the  accused  in  these  days  of  terror — he 
replied  that  he  had  seen  nothing  to  make  him  think 
so.  The  accused  was  perfectly  cheerful  and  calm. 
The  officer  was  sent  back  with  the  fatal  order: 
Seneca  must  either  kill  himself  or  be  killed.  The 
man,  who  was  himself  one  of  the  conspirators,  made 
an  effort  to  save  the  victim.  He  went  to  his  general — 
he  was  a  tribune  of  the  Praetorians — and  asked  him 
whether  he  should  execute  the  order.  (It  should  be 
explained  that  there  was  a  party  for  offering  the 
throne  to  Seneca.)  The  general,  another  conspirator, 
hoped  to  save  himself,  and  told  him  to  obey.  He 
went,  but  had  the  grace  to  stay  outside  and  delegate 
his  task  to  a  centurion. 

Seneca  heard  the  message  without  dismay,  and 
called  for  his  will.  The  centurion  said  that  he  must 
not  have  it.  The  philosopher  turned  to  his  friends 
and  said,  "  I  am  forbidden  to  recognise  your  services 
by  a  legacy ;  but  I  can  at  least  leave  you  the  example 
of  my  life."  They  burst  into  tears.  He  rebuked 
them.  "Why,"  he  asked,  "  have  we  been  studying 
the  maxims  of  philosophers  for  so  many  years,  except 
to  help  us  in  a  crisis  like  this?  Who  did  not  know 
the  savagery  of  Nero?  He  has  murdered  his  mother 
and  his  brother.  It  was  only  left  to  him  to  murder 
his  tutor." 

Then  he  spoke  to   his  wife,  bidding  her  to  be  of 


THE   LAST    HOURS    OF   A    PHILOSOPHER.  139 

good  couras^e  and  find  consolation  in  the  memory  of 
the  days  that  they  had  spent  happily  and  virtuously 
together.  She  declared  that  she  would  die  with  him. 
"I  have  tried,"  he  said,  "to  reconcile  you  to  life; 
but  if  you  prefer  death,  let  it  be  so.  I  will  not 
grudge  it,  though  yours  will  be  the  more  illustrious 
end." 

With  one  blow  the  two  cut  the  veins  in  their 
arms.  Seneca  was  old  and  feeble,  and  the  blood 
flowed  slowly.  So  great  were  his  sufferings  that  he 
persuaded  his  wife  to  leave  him,  lest  his  own  courage 
should  fail.  When  she  was  gone,  he  called  his  secre- 
taries and  dictated  what  we  may  call  his  farewell  to 
the  world.  Tacitus  says  that  he  will  not  repeat 
what  was  so  well  known  to  his  readers.  Unhappily 
it  is  now  lost.  *  His  agony  was  still  protracted,  and 
he  begged  his  physician,  who  was  also  a  kinsman, 
to  give  him  a  dose  of  hemlock,  the  poison  with  which 
Socrates  had  been  put  to  death  by  his  countrymen. 
The  dose  was  administered,  but  in  vain.  He  then 
was  placed  in  a  warm  bath.  Playfully  scattering 
the  water  on  the  slaves  who  stood  by,  "  This  is  a 
libation,"  he  cried,  "to  Jupiter  the  Deliverer."  At 
last  he  managed  to  find  release  from  his  pain  in  the 
suffocating  heat  of  the  caUdarlum  (the  hot  chamber). 

*The   wife    did  not  die  with  her  husband.  Nero  gave  orders 
that   his   wife  should  be  saved.  Even  he  dreaded  the  odium  of 
this  double  suicide. 
10 


140  THE    LAST    HOURS    OF    A   PHILOSOPHER. 

His  funeral  was  conducted  with  the  utmost  simplicity. 
For  this  he  had  provided  by  a  will  made  at  the  very 
height  of  his  wealth  and  power.  Whatever  may  be 
thought  of  Seneca's  life,  his  death  was  the  death  of 
a  philosopher. 


XVIII. 

THE  DEATH  OF  NERO. 

IT  was  not  by  his  crimes  but  by  his  follies  that 
Nero  wore  out  the  patience  of  his  people.  They 
endured  him  when  he  poisoned  his  half-brother  Bri- 
tannicus,  when  he  murdered  his  innocent  wife  and 
the  mother  who  had  sold  her  very  soul  to  purchase 
the  throne  for  him,  when  he  slew  or  compelled  to 
suicide  the  best  and  noblest  of  Rome — Corbulo,  the 
great  general  who  had  saved  the  Eastern  provinces 
from  Parthia,  Lucan  the  rival  of  Virgil,  and  Seneca, 
the  most  eloquent  of  philosophers.  Even  when  he 
set  Rome  on  fire  to  build  on  its  ruins  a  city  more 
to  his  liking,  they  bore  with  him.  But  when  he 
displayed  himself  as  a  player  and  singer,  and  that 
not  only  before  his  countrymen,  which  was  bad  enough? 
but  before  the  foreigner,  his  subjects  would  endure 
him  no  longer. 

As  the  end  approached  he  had  the  curious  warnings 


142 


THE   DEATH    OF    NERO. 


which  fail  to  warn,  and  only  mock  the  man  who  is 
doomed  to  ruin  with  useless  fears.  He  would  lose 
his  throne,  one  soothsayer  told  him.  "  Then  my  art 
shall  support  me,"  he  replied,  and  he  applied  him- 
self with  more  diligence  than  ever  to  his  singing  and 
harp-playing.  He  consulted  the  oracle  at  Delphi, 
which  still  professed  to  foretell  the  future,  and  it 
bade  him  beware  of   "  the  seventy- third  year." 

Naturally  he  thought  that  it  was  his  own  seventy- 
third  year  that  was  meant,  and,  as  he  was  then  barely 
thirty,  he  saw  a  large  vista  of  life  before  him.  He 
became  incredibly  confident.  Some  valuables  belonging 
to  him  were  lost  about  this  time  at  sea.  "  The  fish 
will  bring  them  back,"  he  said.  But  a  deep  discontent 
was  stirring  in  the  provinces.  Gaul  rose  against  him 
under  its  pro-consul  Vindex.  He  was  at  Naples  when 
the  news  reached  him.  At  first  he  did  nothing.  For 
eight  days  he  would  give  no  orders,  but  seemed  simply 
trying  to  forget  the  whole  matter.  Then  he  sent  a 
letter  to  the  Senate  begging  it  to  avenge  him ;  but 
the  wrong  which  seemed  to  touch  him  most,  was  a 
reflection  on  him  as  a  musician.  "  Did  you  ever 
know  a  better? "  he  asked  everyone.  The  news 
from  the  provinces  grew  worse,  and  he  returned  in 
hot  haste  to  Rome.  Then  what  was  really  the  crush- 
ing blow  fell  upon  him.  Gaul  was  nearly  helpless, 
for  it  was  overpowered  by  the  huge  armies  that 
guarded  the  frontier  of  the  Rhine.     Vindex  actually 


THE    DEATH   OF   NERO.  143 

perished  before  the  prince  against  whom  he  had 
risen.  But  when  Spain  under  its  governor  Galba, 
one  of  the  old  Roman  nobility,  declared  against  the 
tyrant,  his  fate  was  sealed.  This  he  seemed  to  know. 
When  he  heard  that  Galba  was  in  arms,  he  fell  speechless 
to  the  ground.  (It  was  Galba  who  fulfilled  the  pro- 
phecy of  the  **  seventy-third  year.  "  That  was  exactly 
his  age.)  All  attempt  at  comfort  failed.  In  vain 
he  was  reminded  that  there  had  been  revolts  against 
other  emperors.  He  saw  no  hope.  *  I  shall  lose  my 
throne, "  he  cried,  "  and  live  to  see  it. "  Then  he 
ordered  the  wildest  schemes  of  revenge.  To  put  to 
death  all  the  provincial  governors,  to  massacre  all 
the  exiles  and  every  native  of  Gaul  that  was  in  the 
city,  to  invite  the  senators  to  a  banquet  and  poison 
them  in  a  mass,  to  set  the  city  on  fire  and  let  loose 
at  the  same  time  the  wild  beasts  that  were  kept 
for  the  shows — such  were  some  of  his  plans. 

But  he  determined  on  action.  He  deposed  the  two 
consuls,  and  appointed  himself  in  their  place,  and  began 
to  prepare  to  take  the  field.  He  equipped  companies 
of  women  like  Amazons,  and  levied  a  scarcely  more 
trustworthy  force  of  slaves.  Of  course  baggage-waggons 
to  convey  the  stage  furniture  for  his  performances 
were  not  forgotten.  His  terror  awoke  the  conscience 
that  had  been  slumbering  within  him.  His  sleep  had 
hitherto  been  dreamless.  Now  it  was  disturbed  by 
hideous    sights.     Now    he    seemed   to    be  steering  a 


144  THE   DEATH    OF   NERO. 

ship,  and  his  mother  wrenched  the  rudder  out  of  his 
hand;  at  another  time  his  murdered  wife  Octavia 
drew  him  into  some  misty  darkness,  nor  was  he  able 
to  resist. 

Within  a  few  days  there  was  not  an  army  tha^j 
had  not  revolted.  His  thoughts  now  wavered  between 
suicide  and  escape.  He  sent  to  Locusta,  the  hag 
who  had  supplied  him  with  poisons,  and  obtained 
from  her  a  deadly  drug  which  he  put  away  in  a 
box  of  gold.  Then  he  sought  to  discover  whether 
any  of  the  officers  of  his  Praetorian  Guard  would 
accompany  him  in  the  flight  to  some  unknown  region 
which  he  meditated.  Some  were  silent;  some  openly 
refused ;  one  even  cried,  "  Is  death  then  so  terrible  ?  " 
To  fly  to  the  Parthian  king,  to  throw  himself  at 
Galba's  feet,  to  address  the  people  and  ask  pardon 
for  his  misdeeds,  begging  to  have  the  Empire  restored 
to  him,  or,  at  least,  to  be  made  Governor  of  Egypt, 
were  plans  that  suggested  themselves  to  him.  He 
actually  prepared  his  speech,  but  never  delivered  it, 
fearing  to  be  torn  in  pieces  on  his  way  to  the  forum. 

He  put  off  his  decision  to  the  next  day  and  retired 
to  his  chamber.  Waking  about  midnight,  he  found 
his  body-guard  had  left  him.  He  sent  messages  to 
some  of  his  courtiers,  which  no  one  answered;  he 
went  himself  to  their  houses,  but  the  doors  were 
fast  closed  against  him.  He  returned  to  his  cham- 
ber.    His  attendants  had  pillaged  it,  taking  even  the 


THE   DEATH   OF   NERO.  145 

golden  poison-box.  He  resolved  to  die,  but  could 
not  even  find  a  gladiator  to  deal  the  fatal  blow. 
"  Have  I  then  neither  a  friend  nor  an  enemy  ? "  he 
cried  in  his  despair.  Then  again  the  love  of  life 
returned,  and  he  thought  of  escape.  A  freedman 
suggested  his  villa  in  the  suburbs,  and  Nero  started 
for  it  on  horseback.  He  was  barefooted,  with  a 
faded  cloak  thrown  over  his  shirt,  and  his  head 
wrapped  about  with  a  napkin.  The  shock  of  an 
earthquake  and  a  thunderstorm  added  a  horror  to 
the  night,  and  more  terrible  than  either  were  the 
shouts  of  the  Praetorians  invoking  curses  upon  Nero 
and  blessings  upon  Galba.  His  horse  started  at  a 
corpse  in  the  way ;  the  napkin  fell  from  his  face, 
and  a  soldier  recognised  and  saluted  him. 

While  waiting  to  get  into  the  villa  he  drank  from 
a  puddle  in  the  road.  "So  this  is  Nero's  beverage ! " 
he  cried.  At  last  he  crept  into  a  wretched  little 
chamber,  and  lay  down  to  rest  on  a  palliasse  of  straw. 
He  was  hungry  and  thirsty,  but  could  not  eat  the 
coarse  bread  that  was  offered  to  him.  A  little  tepid 
water  he  swallowed. 

His  companions  did  not  forget  what  was  due  to 
a  Roman's  sense  of  dignity,  and  implored  him  to  put 
an  end  to  his  life,  and  so  escape  the  insults  which 
would  be  showered  upon  him.  He  consented  so  far 
as  to  order  a  trench  to  be  dug  for  his  grave,  and 
other  preparations  to  be  made.     Again  and  again,  as 


146  THE    DEATH   OF   NERO. 

the  dismal  work  went  on,  he  exclaimed:  "  What  an 
artist  the  world  is  losing ! " 

At  last  he  was  stung  into  action.  The  freedman 
who  was  giving  him  this  miserable  hospitality  received 
a  letter  from  the  city.  Questioned  as  to  its  con- 
tents, he  replied :  "  The  Senate  has  declared  you  a 
public  enemy,  and  decreed  that  you  should  be  pun-ished 
in  the  ancient  fashion."  "What  is  that?"  asked 
Nero.  He  was  told  that  the  criminal  was  stripped, 
with  his  head  thrust  into  a  fork,  and  flogged  to  death. 
The  prospect  terrified  him.  He  caught  up  two  dag- 
gers, which  he  had  brought  w^ith  him,  and  tried  their 
edge.  But  his  courage  failed.  "  The  time  is  not  come," 
he  said.  First  he  bade  a  companion  begin  the  funeral 
lamentation;  then,  again,  begged  some  one  to  set 
him  the  example  of  dying  with  courage;  finally,  he 
tried  to  brace  himself  to  the  deed.  "  It  is  base  to 
live;"  "This  ill  beseems  Nero;"  "  Nero,  rouse  your- 
self." More  powerful  than  anything  was  the  sound 
of  a  horse's  hoof.  A  trooper  had  been  sent  to  take 
him  alive.  He  hurriedly  murmured  a  verse  from 
Homer — 

*  I  hear  the  sound  of  some  swift-footed  steed,* 

and  thrust  a  poniard  into  his  throat,  a  freedman  help- 
ing to  drive  home  the  blow.  He  was  dying  when 
the  officer  sent  to  arrest  him  rushed  into  the  room, 
and  endeavoured  to  staunch  the  blood.     "Too  late!" 


THE  DEATH    OF    NERO.  14? 

he  cried ;  *  and  this  is  your  fidelity  ! "  With  these 
words  he  breathed  his  last,  his  eyes  stiffening  with 
so  horrible  a  look  that  all  who  saw  it  were  struck 
with  terror. 

And  yet  this  monster  was  regretted !  The  Roman 
populace,  when  they  wanted  to  compliment  a  favour- 
ite, greeted  him  as  another  Nero  ;  and  more  than 
once  the  security  of  the  Empire  was  disturbed  by 
the  rumour  that  Nero  had  returned  to  claim  his  throne. 


XIX. 


A  NOBLEMAN  OF  THE  OLD  SCHOOL. 


Galba. 


SUETONTIIS  tells  a  strange  story  about  the  extinc- 
tion of  the  house  of  the  Julian  Caesars.  It  runs  thus : 
Livia,  the  wife  of  Augustus  shortly  after  her  mar- 
riage to  that  prince,  paid  a  visit  to  one  of  the  country 
residences  of  her  family  at  Veii.  While  she  was 
there  an  eagle  that  was  flying  over  her  head  dropped 
into  her  lap  a  white  hen  that  had  a  sprig  of  laurel 
in    its    mouth.     Livia   had  the  hen  carefully  tended, 


A   NOBLEMAN    OF    THE    OLD    SCUOOL.  149 

and  planted  the  sprig  of  laurel.  The  bird  became 
the  mother  of  a  numerous  family;  the  sprig  grew 
into  a  shrubbery  so  large  that  the  Emperor  and  his 
successors  always  gathered  from  it  the  laurel  crown 
which  they  wore  on  the  occasion  of  a  triumph.  The 
sprigs  then  used  were  afterwards  planted,  and  it  was 
observed — so  the  story  runs — that  the  cutting  which 
each  Emperor  put  into  the  ground  began  to  wither 
away  when  his  end  approached,  while  the  original 
shrubbery  still  flourished.  In  the  last  year  of  Nero's 
reign  this  too  perished  entirely,  while  the  whole  brood 
of  fowls  descended  from  Livia's  hen  also  died. 

If  the  fall  of  the  dynasty  of  Augustus  was  thus 
foretold,  it  was  also  the  case,  if  the  same  authorities 
may  be  believed,  that  the  future  greatness  of  its 
successor  was  indicated  long  beforehand.  The  stories 
are  difficult  to  believe ;  and  yet  it  is  not  easy  to 
suppose  that  they  were  all  fictitious. 

The  young  Galba,  paying  his  court,  in  company 
with  a  number  of  lads  of  the  same  age,  to  the  aged 
Augustus,  *  received  from  the  old  man  a  curious 
response.  He  playfully  pinched  the  lad's  cheek,  and 
said :  "  And  you  too,  my  boy,  shall  have  a  taste  of 
my  power."  "This  is  an  established  fact,"  writes 
Suetonius,  when  he  relates  the  anecdote.  Tiberius 
who  was  very  fond  of  dabbling  in  the  secrets  of  the 

*  Galba  was  born  3  B.C.;  Augustus  died  aged  seventy  in 
A.D.  12. 


150        A  NOBLEMAN  OF  THE  OLD  SCHOOL. 

future,  was  told  by  the  astrologer  that  Galba  would 
certainly  be  Emperor,  but  not  before  old  age.  "  Then 
the  matter  does  not  concern  me, "  he  said,  remembering 
that  he  was  nearly  forty  years  older  than  his  destined 
successor.  A  tradition  to  the  same  effect  was  preserved 
in  Galba's  family.  On  one  occasion  his  grandfather, 
a  man  who  prudently  confined  his  ambition  to  literature, 
was  performing  the  expiations  commonly  offered  when 
a  tree  had  been  struck  by  lightning.  An  eagle 
swooped  down  on  the  victim,  snapped  the  entrails 
out  of  the  sacrificer's  hands,  and  carried  them  to  the 
top  of  an  oak.  Galba  asks  the  soothsayers  what  this 
incident  portended.  "  It  means,"  they  answered,  "  that 
one  of  your  house  will  be  the  first  man  in  Rome, 
but  not-  till  late  in  his  life."  "That  will  happen," 
said  the  incredulous  Galba,  "  when  a  mule  has  a 
foal."  This  very  unusual  birth  took  place  when  the 
grandson  was  thinking  of  rising  against  Nero.  To 
everybody  else  it  seemed  a  disastrous  portent,  but 
Galba  welcomed  it  as  an  omen  of  success. 

He  was  indeed  on  both  sides  of  most  distinguished 
descent.  His  father  was  a  Sulpicius,  the  scion  of  one 
of  the  very  few  old  patrician  families  which  had 
survived  into  the  days  of  the  Empire.  A  Sulpicius 
had  been  raised  to  the  Consulship  nine  years  after 
the  expulsion  of  the  Tarquins,  and  the  honours  of 
the  family  had  been  continued  by  a  long  line  of  sol- 
diers and  statesmen.     Among  his  maternal  ancestors 


A    NOBLEMAN    OF   THE    OLD  SCHOOL.  151 

he  numbered  MuTmnius,  the  conqueror  of  Corinth,  and 
Catulus,  who  shared  with  Marius — in  what  proportion 
was  a  matter  of  angry  and  lasting  controversy — the 
honour  of  having  delivered  Rome  from  the  pressing 
danger  of  a  great  barbarian  invasion.  *  Indeed  he 
traced  up  his  ancestry  to  a  far  more  remote  anti- 
quity. The  family  tree  which  when  he  mounted  the 
throne  he  caused  to  be  hung  up  in  the  palace  exhibited 
Jupiter  at  the  head  of  the  paternal,  and  Minos  of 
Crete  of  the  maternal  line. 

The  young  Galba  naturally  became  a  considerable 
personage  in  Rome,  and  all  the  more  so  because  he 

*  The  Cimhri,  a  German  tribe  with  probably  a  considerable 
Celtic  admixture,  crossed  the  Alps  in  113.  B.C.  They  defeated 
a  Roman  army  under  the  consul  Q.  Papirius  Carbo  in  that  year. 
In  109.  M.  Junius  Silanus  shared  the  same  fate.  In  105.  two 
Roman  armies  were  annihilated  at  Arausio  (Orange)  on  the  left 
])ank  of  the  Rhone.  Shortly  after  this  success  the  invaders 
were  joined  by  their  kinsmen  the  Teutones.  The  two  nations, 
however,  divided  their  foices  but  with  a  common  purpose  of 
acting  against  Rome.  The  Teutones  were  cut  to  pieces  by 
Marius  at  Aquae  Sextiae  (Aix-les-Bains)  in  B.C.  102.,  and  in  the 
following  year  the  Cimbri  were  destroyed  by  the  united  forces 
of  Marius  and  Catulus  at  Vercelloe  (Vercelli).  It  was  claimed 
for  Catulus,  who  was  a  noble  of  high  rank,  that  he  had  broken 
the  Cimbrian  centre,  and  captured  thirty-two  standards,  while 
his  colleague  had  captured  only  two ;  but  the  popular  voice  gave 
the  chief  honours  of  the  day  to  Marius.  "  His  high-born  colleague 
takes  the  second  place,"  says  Juvenal  speaking  of  the  services 
of  the  plebeian  Marius. 


152       A  NOBLEMAN  OF  THE  OLD  SCHOOL. 

was  a  childless  widower.  His  first  wife  was  a  Le- 
pida,  and  had  he  wished  to  marry  again  he  might 
have  espoused  the  mother  of  the  future  Emperor 
Nero.  Agrippina  indeed  showed  such  a  preference 
for  him,  even  before  he  was  free,  that  Lepida's  mo- 
ther reproached  •  and  even  struck  her  at  a  ladies' 
party.  He  was  a  close  attendant  on  the  Empress- 
mother  Livia,  who  left  him  the  magnificent  legacy  of 
£500,000.  This  was  cut  down  by  Tiberius,  the  re- 
siduary legatee,  to  <£5,000  on  the  ground  that  the 
sum  was  expressed  not  in  words  but  in  figures.  * 
Even  this  the  legatee  did  not  receive. 

The  high  offices  of  state  were  opened  to  him  be- 
fore the  usual  age.  He  was  praetor  probably  in  his 
thirty-fifth  year,  and  certainly  consul  in  his  thirty- 
seventh.  Persons  curious  in  such  matters  afterwards 
observed  it  as  a  remarkable  coincidence,  that  his 
predecessor  in  the  Consulship  was  the  father  of  Nero, 
and  his  successor  the  father  of  Otho.  Nothing  else 
that  was  notable  occurred  except  it  be  that  in  the 
Games  which  it  was  his  duty  as  Praetor  to  exhibit  he 
introduced  a  new  spectacle — elephants  walking  on 
the  tight-rope. 

His  consulship  was  followed  by  a  military  command 

*  The  words  would  be  quingenties  sestertius,  as  against  q\iin- 
genta  sestertia ;  the  figures  HS.  10  as  against  HS.  10 ,  the  diffe- 
rence being  that  the  line  is  drawn  in  the  larger  sum  over  both 
the  number  and  the  denomination. 


A    NOBLEMAN    OF    THE    OLD    SCHOOL.  153 

in  Gaul.  His  predecessor  was  a  certain  Lentulus 
surnamed  Gaetulicus  whose  easy  rule  hat  somewhat 
weakened  the  bonds  of  military  discipline.  Galba  was 
as  conservative  in  this  as  in  other  respects.  The 
day  after  he  took  over  the  command  the  soldiers 
applauded  the  performances  of  a  spectacle  exhibited  in 
the  camp.  This  was  against  rule,  and  the  new  general 
signified  his  displeasure  by  giving  ihat  night  as 
the  watchwords  "  Hands  under  cloaks ! "  The  next 
day  everybody  in  the  camp  was  singing  a  line  which 
may  be  Englished  thus: 

Soldiers!  learn  to  be  soldierly: 

Gaetulicus  dead, 

Galba  rules  in  his  stead: 
Soldiers!  learn  to  be  soldierly. 

All  the  men,  veterans  as  well  as  recruits,  were 
kept  hard  at  work,  while  the  new  commander  prac- 
tised what  he  preached,  if  indeed  it  is  true  that  on  one 
occasion  he  ran  for  twenty  miles  by  the  side  of  the 
Emperor's  chariot. 

The  death  of  Caligula  gave  him  the  opportunity 
of  which  he  availed  himself  twenty-seven  years  later. 
The  various  influential  people  urged  him  to  declare 
himself  Emperor.  He  declined  the  offer.  Claudius 
felt  his  forbearance  so  strongly  as  always  to  show 
him  the  greatest  consideration.  Among  other  honours 
he  was  specially  chosen  to  take  charge  of  the  pro- 
vince   of   Africa,    then    much  disturbed  by  internal 


154       A  NOBLEMAN  OF  THE  OLD  SCHOOL. 

commotions  and  by  the  attacks  of  barbarous  neigh" 
hours.  Galba  acquired  a  great  reputation  as  a  justly 
severe  ruler.  Some  of  his  recorded  decisions  have 
a  very  oriental  aspect.  A  soldier  who  was  convicted 
of  having  sold  a  peck  of  flour  for  a  large  sum  of 
money  *  when  his  comrades  were  almost  starving,  he 
ordered  to  be  starved  to  death.  In  a  case  of  the 
disputed  ownership  of  a  horse  he  directed  that  the 
animal  should  be  taken  with  its  head  covered  to 
the  place  where  it  was  accustomed  to  drink,  and  be 
allowed  to  find  its  way  home. 

For  his  services  in  Germany  and  Africa  he  received 
the  distinctions  which  had  been  substituted  for 
the  honour  of  a  triumph,  by  this  time  reserved  for 
the  Emperor,  and  three  priestly  offices.  The  next 
fifteen  years  he  spent  in  profound  retirement.  In  A.D. 
60.  he  was  appointed  to  the  Governorship  of  Eastern 
Spain,  t  Here  the  old  prognostics  of  power  followed 
him.  The  hair  of  the  acolyte  at  a  sacrifice  at 
which  he  was  assisting  suddenly  changed  in  colour 
from  black  to  white.  The  wise  men  declared  that 
this  indicated  an  approaching  change  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  world.  A  young  man  was  to  be 
succeeded  by  an  old.  Not  less  significant  was  the 
discovery  of  twelve  axes  which  seemed  to  have  fallen 

*  A  hundred  denarii  =  to  something  more  than  £3. 
t  Called   Hispania    Citerior    or    Tarraconensis    from  Tarraco 
(Tarragona)  its  capital. 


A    ^'013LEMAN    OF     THE    OLD    SCHOOL.  155 

from  the  sky  at  a  place  which  had  been  struck  by 
lightning.  Whatever  the  cause,  Galba  found  it 
expedient  to  change  his  line  of  conduct.  He  began  by 
showing  his  old  severity.  He  cut  off  the  hands  of 
a  fraudulent  money-changer,  and  crucified  a  guardian 
who  had  poisoned  his  ward,  a  lad  to  whose  inherit- 
ance he  stood  next  in  succession.  The  man  pro- 
tested that  he  was  a  Roman  citizen.  Galba  directed 
that  the  cross  should  be  white-washed  by  way  of 
distinction,  and  made  much  loftier  than  those  of  the 
criminals  who  suffered  with  him.  But  such  energy 
he  felt  to  be  dangerous.  In  the  later  years  of  his 
government  he  did  as  little  as  he  could.  "One  has 
not  to  render  an  account  for  doing  nothing,"  he  was 
wont  to  say. 

After  all  he  was  compelled  to  act  in  self-preserva- 
tion. Vindex,  who  had  risen  against  Nero  in 
Gaul,  sent  him  a  letter  imploring  him  to  deliver  the 
human  race  from  an  intolerable  tyranny.  This  entreaty 
he  might  have  disregarded ;  but  the  prayer  was 
enforced  by  the  discovery  that  Nero  had  sent  orders 
for  his  assassination  to  the  imperial  agents.  This 
decided  him.  He  held  what  we  may  call  an  assembly 
of  notables,  the  chief  civil  and  military  authorities  of 
the  province.  He  exhibited  as  many  portraits  of  the 
victims  of  Nero  as  he  could  collect,  and  denounced 
the  tyrant.  Saluted  Emperor,  he  preferred  to  call 
himself  the  "  Lieutenant  of  the  Senate  and  People  of 


156       A  NOBLEMAN  OF  THE  OLD  SCHOOL. 

Rome."  His  position  however  was  precarious.  He 
had  but  a  small  military  power;  a  single  legion,  two 
squadrons  of  cavalry,  and  some  auxiliary  infantry. 
Even  these  could  not  be  relied  upon.  He  had  besides 
a  narrow  escape  from  assassination,  and  when  the 
news  of  the  death  of  Vindex  arrived  he  felt  his 
prospects  to  be  so  gloomy  that  he  meditated  suicide. 
Then  came  the  news  that  Nero  was  dead,  and  that 
the  armies  of  the  Empire  had  accepted  him.  On  tliis 
he  dropped  the  title  of  Lieutenant  and  assumed  the 
style  of  Caisar. 

Unfortunately  he  was  no  longer  the  man  that  he 
had  been.  Avarice  in  particular  had  grown  upon 
him  until  it  had  become  a  master  passion.  Ludicrous 
stories  of  his  meanness  were  circulated.  The  people 
of  Tarraco  offered  him  a  crown  of  gold  from  the 
Temple  of  Jupiter.  Its  reputed  weight  was  fifteen 
pounds.  Three  ounces  were  found  to  be  wanting,  and  he 
ordered  the  town  to  make  it  good.  A  musician  per- 
formed very  much  to  his  satisfaction,  and  he  made 
the  man  a  present  of  something  less  than  five  shil- 
lings. True  or  false,  these  stories  showed  what 
people  thought  of  him. 

Even  when  he  meant  well  he  was  not  judicious. 
It  had  become  a  regular  custom  for  the  troops  to 
have  some  bounty  bestowed  upon  them  by  a  new 
Emperor.  Galba  refused  to  conform  to  it.  "  I  choose 
my    soldiers    I   do  not  buy  them,"  he  answered.     It 


A   NOBLEMAN    OF    THE  OLD   SCHOOL.  157 

was  a  noble  sentiment ;  but  was  not  suited  to  the 
times.  It  was  idle  to  deny  that  the  armies  were  the 
ultimate  repository  of  power.  Doubtless  it  was  de- 
plorable that  they  should  be  so^  that  the  old  free- 
dom of  Rome  should  have  given  place  to  a  despotism 
essentially  military,  but  the  fact  had  to  be  recognised 
and  reckoned  with. 

*It  is  certain,"  says  Tacitus,  "that  the  troops 
might  have  been  won  over  by  even  the  smallest 
bounty  from  the  parsimonious  old  man;"  and  it 
was  the  duty  of  a  really  statesmanlike  ruler  to 
acknowledge  the  necessity.  The  old  maxim  ran :  **  It 
is  not  well  to  rear  a  lion  in  the  city,  but,  once  rear- 
ed, you  must  humour  him."  The  lion  in  the  Roman 
Empire  was  the  Army.*  'And  then,"  adds  Tacitus, 
"the  rest  of  his  actions  were  not  after  this  model. 
The  primitive  virtue  which  he  affected  in  his  dealings 
with  the  troops  was  conspicuously  absent  in  his 
other  actions.  The  consciousness  of  weakness  drove 
him  into  cruelty.  Officers  who  were  popular,  or 
were  supposed  to  be  popular,  with  the  troops  were 
put  to  death  on  the  slightest  grounds.  A  legion  which 
Nero  had  levied  from  the  fleet,  a  service  which  he 
always  favored,  was  sent  back  to  the  ships.  It  mur- 
mured at  the  change  and  the  new  Emperor  ordered 
his  cavalry  to  charge  it,  and  afterwards  selected 
every  tenth  man  for  execution.    The  real  power  of 

*The  saying  was  originally  applied  to  Alcibiades  of  Athens, 


I 


158  A   NOBLEMAN    OF    THE    OLD    SCHOOL. 

the  Empire  was  in  the  hands  of  three  men,  all  of  them 
unworthy  of  the  charge.  One  of  them  was  Vinius,  who 
had  been  his  lieutenant  in  Spain,  a  man  of  insatiable 
cupidity;  another  was  Laco,  prefect  of  the  Praetorians, 
notorious  for  his  indolence  and  arrogance ;  the  third  was 
a  Greek  freedman  of  the  name  of  Icelus.  There  was 
nothing  which  these  unprincipled  favorites  did  not  sell, 
all  the  while  their  master  was  affecting,  doubtless  in 
sincerity,  a  primitive  strictness  and  frugality. 

The  act  that  proved  immediately  fatal  to  Galba 
was  probably,  by  a  curious  irony  of  fate,  one  of  the 
very  best  of  his  reign.  He  soon  perceived  that  he  must 
have  a  younger  colleague  in  the  cares  of  the  Empire. 
Had  he  chosen  Otho,  a  favorite  with  the  populace 
who  saw  in  him  another  Nero,  a  strange  but  a  genuine 
title  to  their  affections,  and  popular  with  the  troops, 
he  would  probably  have  ended  his  days  in  peace.  He 
was  too  high  principled  to  make  such  a  compromise. 
It  would,  he  thought,  have  been  useless  to  deliver 
Rome  from  a  Nero,  if  he  was  to  hand  her  over  to 
an  Otho.  Accordingly  he  chose  for  his  adopted  son 
and  successor  Piso  Licinianus,  a  man  of  the  highest 
character,  but  suspected,  I  may  say,  of  virtues  which 
were  highly  unpopular.  The  end  came  almost  imme- 
diately. *  Two  common  soldiers,"  says  Tacitus, 
"undertook  to  transfer  the  Empire  of  Rome,  and 
actually  transferred  it. "  Not  a  sword  was  drawn  to 
protect  the  Prince  who  seven  months  before  had  been 


A  NOBLEMAN  OF  THE  OLD  SCHOOL.       159 

unanimously  accepted  by  the  armies  of  Rome.  We 
cannot  say  that  he  deserved  his  fate,  for  he  meant 
well.  But  we  cannot  be  surprised  at  it.  He  failed 
absolutely  under  the  test  of  power.  "As  long  as  he 
was  a  subject,  he  seemed  beyond  a  subject's  measure ; 
and  all  men  would  have  agreed  that  he  was  equal  to 
Empire,  had  he  never  been  Emperor,"  is  Tacitus's 
epigrammatic  verdict  on  this  "  Nobleman  of  the  Old 
School." 


XX. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  BEDRIACUM  AND  THE 
DEATH  OF  OTHO. 


Oiho. 

A  SINGLE  year,  which  the  historian  justly  describes 
as  "  great  and  terrible, "  saw  the  rise  and  fall  of 
three  Emperors.  Galba  was  murdered  on  January, 
15th.  69;  Otho  perished  by  his  own  hand,  exactly 
three  months  afterwards;  Vitellius  was  slain  on  the 
23rd.  of  December  in  the  same  year.  The  fates  of 
the  second  and  the  third  of  these  temporary  occupants 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BEDKIACUM.  161 

of  the  throne  were  decided  at  nearly  the  same  spot, 
a  village  called  Bedriacum,  probably  to  be  identified 
with  Ustiano,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Oglio,  a  ri\»er 
which  runs  into  the  Po  a  few  miles  S.S.E.  of  Mantua. 
The  locality  may  be  more  generally  described  as  part 
of  the  great  Lombard  plain,  always  one  of  the  battle- 
fields of  Europe. 

Otho  left  Rome  on  the  14th.  of  March,  moving 
northwards  to  encounter  the  armies  of  Vitellius, 
which  had  already  crossed  the  Alps.  His  prospects 
were  fairly  hopeful.  His  own  forces  were  indeed 
scarcely  a  match  for  the  armies  of  the  Rhine  which 
had  descended  almost  en  masse  into  Italy;  but  the 
legions  from  the  provinces  east  of  the  Adriatic  were 
on  their  march  to  join  him,  and  his  fleet  commanded 
the  sea. 

The  opening  operations  of  the  campaign  were 
decided  in  his  favour.  Placentia  was  defended  with 
brilliant  success  by  Spurinna,  *  and  Caecina,  one 
of  the  hostile  generals,  suffered  a  severe  check,  which 
might  have  been  turned,  but  for  the  inaction  of 
Otho's  lieutenant,  into  a  disastrous  defeat.  But 
after  this  everything  went  wrong.  Otho  had  the 
best  military  skill  in  the  Empire  at  his  disposal,  but 
he  refused  to  avail  himself  of  it.  Suetonius  Paulinus, 
who  had  won  by  his  British  campaigns  a  reputation 

♦See  chapter  XXV. 


162  THE  BATTLE  OF  BEDRIACUM. 

superior  to  that  of  any  of  his  contemporaries,  was. 
strongly  against  giving  battle.  He  represented  to 
Otho  that  the  forces  then  at  his  disposal  were  inferior 
to  the  invaders',  but  that  every  day  would  add  to 
his  strength  and  diminish  that  of  his  opponent.  The 
latter  had  brought  their  whole  forces  into  the  field. 
They  had  no  reserves  with  which  to  make  good  any 
losses  in  battle  or  by  sickness.  From  tlue  latter 
cause  they  would  without  doubt  suffer  severely. 
Levies  from  the  north  would  inevitably  be  decimated 
by  the  heat  of  the  Italian  plains  as  the  summer 
advanced.  He  advised  the  Emperor  to  await  his, 
enemy  behind  the  walls  of  the  great  fortified  towns 
of  Italy.  Otho  was  too  impatient  to  listen  to  these 
counsels.  He  could  not  bear  the  suspense  of  a 
protracted  campaign,  and  so  resolved  to  put  his 
fortune  to  the  touch  at  once.  Even  then  the  struggle 
might  have  ended  in  his  favour,  but  for  the  fatal 
advice  which  his  incompetent  advisers,  his  brother 
being  foremost  among  them,  urged  upon  him,  that 
he  should  retire  to  a  safe  distajice  from  the  scene 
of  the  action.  Paulinus  and  his  colleagues  saw  the 
folly  of  this  proceeding,  but  did  not  venture  to 
oppose  it,  fearing  to  be  accused  of  risking  the 
Emperor's  life. 

Otho  accordingly  retired  to  Brixellum.  Two  disas- 
trous results  followed.  The  army  was  weakened,  for 
a  strong  force,  including  some  of  the  best  troops  in 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BEDRIACUM.  163 

the  army,  was  detached  to  serve  as  an  escort  to  the 
Emperor.  The  disparity  in  numbers  thus  became 
more  marked  than  ever.  What  was  far  worse  was 
the  fact  that  the  men  lost  their  enthusiasm  and 
spirit.  Otho,  strange  to  say,  considering  how  little 
he  showed  of  the  soldierly  temper  and  habit  of  life, 
was  highly  popular  with  the  men,  who  would  have 
fought  under  his  eagle  with  an  energy  which  they 
were  not  likely  to  exhibit  under  any  other  com- 
mander. 

The  details  of  the  battle,  as  given  by  Tacitus, 
enable  us  to  form  but  little  idea  of  what  actually  took 
place.  That  the  struggle  began  with  a  repulse  of 
the  Vitellianist  cavalry  we  know ;  after  that  we  find 
little  that  is  definite,  only  a  strong  general  impression, 
tliat  the  army  of  Otho  was  very  badly  commanded. 
We  read  too  of  one  of  those  strange  misunderstandings 
which  have  sometimes  contributed  to,  if  they  have  not 
decided,  the  issue  of  battles.*  A  rumour  went  about  the 
Othonianist  legions  that  their  adversaries  had  capitu- 
lated. They  greeted  the  opposing  lines  with  a  friendly 
salutation  and  only  found  out  their  mistake  from 
the  angry  response  with  which  they  were  met.  So 
far   not    much    harm    would  have  followed;  but  the 

*  We  may  compare  the  mistake  at  the  Battle  of  Barnet  when 
the  Earl  of  Warwick's  troops  mistook  the  device  worn  by  their 
friends,  the  followers  of  the  Earl  of  Oxford,  a  star  with  five 
rays  for  the  sun  which  was  the  cognizance  of  the  Yorkists. 


164  THE  BATTLE  OF  BEDEIACUM. 

proceeding  suggested  treachery  to  thoir  own  side 
whom  the  report  had  not  reached,  and  could  only 
suppose  that  their  comrades  were  fraternising  with 
the  enemy.  The  battle  raged  most  fiercely  on  the 
causeway  of  one  of  the  great  roads  that  ran  across 
the  Lombard  plain,  and  on  the  open  space  between 
this  and  the  Po,  where  a  desperate  conflict  is  recorded 
as  having  taken  place  between  the  Twenty-first 
Legion,  a  veteran  corps  of  high  reputation  which 
had  come  from  the  camp  of  the  Upper  Rhine,  and 
a  newly  levied  force,  the  First  Marine  Legion,  which 
had  never  yet  fought  in  a  pitched  battle.  In  the 
first  conflict  the  veterans  lost  their  eagle;  infuriated 
by  this  disgrace  they  returned  to  the  charge,  and 
drovo  their  opponents  headlong  before  them.  Another 
legion  from  the  German  frontier,  the  Fifth,  routed 
the  Thirteenth;  a  portion  of  the  Fourteenth  was 
surrounded  by  superior  numbers,  and  apparently  was 
compered  to  surrender.  The  Praetorians,  the  best 
troops^in  Otho's  army,  seem  to  have  held  their  own, 
refusing  afterwards  to  allow  that  they  had  been 
defeated. 

Otho,  meanwhile,  was  awaiting  calmly  at  Brixellum 
the  news  of  the  result,  calmly  because  he  had  made 
up  his  mind  how  he  should  act.  If  the  victory 
was  his,  well ;  if  not,  he  was  determined  not  to  fight 
again.  He  had  risked  everything  on  the  issue  of  the 
day,  and  he  was  resolved  to  abide  by  it.  Suetonius, 


THE   BATTLE   OF   BEDRIACUM.  165 

the  historian  of  the  Caesars,  gives  us  an  interesting 
reminiscence  which  he  had  heard  from  his  own  father, 
an  officer  in  one  of  the  defeated  legions.  Otho  had 
always  felt  the  greatest  horror  of  civil  war;  if  his 
own  conduct  towards  Galba  seemed  inconsistent,  he 
excused  it  by  having  his  own  convictions  partly  jus- 
tified by  the  result,  that  in  this  case  the  transference 
of  power  could  be  effected  without  a  struggle. 
The  troops  seem  to  have  been  aware  of  the  Emper- 
or's reluctance  to  continue  the  struggle.  Anyhow 
they  at  once  set  themselves  to  at  once  combat  the 
resolve.  They  implored  him  not  to  give  up  hope; 
he  had,  they  said,  great  forces  still  at  his  disposal. 
The  Praetorians  were  substantially  unbroken,  and  the 
legions  from  Moesia  and  from  the  trans- Adriatic 
provinces  were  near  at  hand.  Indeed  they  had  sent 
messengers  in  advance  to  announce  their  approach. 
These  representations  were  undoubtedly  correct.  The 
War  was  not  yet  over,  if  Otho  had  chosen  o  carry 
it  on.  He  had  the  means  of  prolonging  the  struggle, 
and  it  might  have  ended  in  his  favor.  But  to  prolong 
it  was  exactly  what  he  had  resolved  not  to  do. 

The  speech  in  which  he  announced  this  determination 
is  finely  expressed,  though  how  much  is  the  historian's, 
how  much  Otho's  we  cannot  determine.  "I  do  not 
put  so  much  value  on  my  life,  as  to  make  me  will- 
ing to  expose  to  further  danger  a  spirit  so  noble, 
a    courage    so    dauntless    as  yours.  The  greater  the 


166  THE  BATTLE  OF  BEDKIACUM. 

hope  you  hold  out  to  me,  the  more  meritorious 
will  be  my  death.  Vitellius  began  this  civil  strife; 
I  will  at  least  have  the  credit  of  limiting  it  to  a 
single  battle.  Others  will  have  held  power  longer 
than  I  have  done,  but  no  one  shall  have  left  it  with 
more  distinction.  I  am  determined  that  the  best  youth 
of  Rome,  the  bravest  armies  of  the  Empire  shall  not 
be  lost  to  it.  I  am  content  to  know  that  you  were 
willing  to  die  for  me."  He  then  took  farewell  of  his 
friends,  and  gave  them  such  facilities  as  he  could  for 
leaving  the  place;  he  destroyed  all  documents  and 
letters  that  were  likely  to  compromise  their  writers. 
He  had  originally  intended  to  kill  himself  that  same 
evening,  but  changed  his  mind,  playfully  saying  to 
his  attendants :  "  I  may  as  well  live  one  night  more. " 
He  had  already  discharged,  as  he  thought,  all  the 
duties  of  life,  leaving  nothing  but  the  preparation 
for  death,  when  he  w^as  roused  by  a  disturbance  among 
the  infuriated  soldiery.  They  took  it  ill  that  any  of  the 
Emperor's  friends  should  leave  him  and  threatened  with 
violence  all  who  attempted  to  quit  the  town. 

Yerginius,  a  distinguished  officer,  who  had  himself 
refused  the  throne  when  it  was  offered  him  by  the 
legions,  was  in  imminent  danger,  the  troops  having 
besieged  him  in  his  house.  Otho  quieted  the  tumult,  and 
waited  till  all  who  wished  to  go  had  departed  in  safety. 
At  sunset,  after  quenching  his  thirst  wdth  a  draught 
of  cold  water,  he  retired  to  rest,  having  fii'st  put  a 


THE   BATTLE   OF    BEDRIACUM.  167 

dagger  under  his  pillow.  Two  had  been  brought  to 
him,  and  he  had  chosen  the  one  which  had  the  keenest 
edge. 

The  night  passed  quietl3\  It  was  believed  that 
he  slept.  At  early  dawn  the  fieedmen  who  were  in 
attendance,  and  who  were  watching  for  every  sound, 
heard  him  groan.  They  hurried  into  his  chamber, 
Plotius  Funius,  the  Prei'ect  of  the  Praetorians,  being 
with  them.  They  found  Otho  dead.  One  blow,  which 
must  have  been  delivered  with  no  common  firmness, 
had  been  sufficient.  The  last  rites  were  hastily 
performed.  He  had  been  urgent  in  his  entreaties 
that  his  remains  should  be  at  once  placed  on  the 
funeral  pile,  dreading  that  his  head  might  be  cut  off 
and  made  the  object  of  insult  by  the  conquerors. 
The  Praetorians  carried  his  corpse  to  the  place  where 
it  was  to  be  consumed,  covering  his  hands  and  his 
wounded  breast  with  kisses  as  they  went.  Those  who 
could  not  reach  the  body  for  the  crowd,  showed  their 
grief  and  their  affection  by  their  gestures.  Soldiers 
who  had  been  deputed  to  light  the  funeral  pile  killed 
themselves  after  they  had  discharged  this  mournful 
office.  The  number  of  those  who  committed  suicide 
either  then  or  shortly  afterwards  was  surprisingly 
great.  There  was  something  in  the  man  which 
attracted  affection  in  a  remarkable  way.  He  had 
not,  so  far  as  we  can  make  out,  a' single  virtue  beyond 
courage ;    he    was    vicious,    unscrupulous,    a    foolish 


168  THE  BATTLE  OF  BEDRIACUM. 

profligate  and  fop  ;  and  yet  a  passionate  devotion, 
which  men  infinitely  better  than  he  could  not  raise, 
was  lavished  upon  him.  The  cause  was  doubtless 
some  personal  charm  which  defied  description 


XXL 

AN  IMPEBIAL  GLUTTON. 


Vitellius, 

IT  was  a  curious  chance  that  set  Vitellius,  the 
ninth  of  the  twelve  Caesars,  on  the  Imperial 
throne.  His  father,  indeed,  had  been  a  man  of  no 
small  distinction.  He  had  done  considerable  services 
to  the  State  both  at  home  and  abroad.  When  he 
held  the  government  of  the  province  of  Syria,  an 
office  which  carried  with  it  the  charge  of  the  relations 
between    the    Empire    and    the    Parthian  King,   he 


170  AN   IMPERIAL    GLUTTON. 

had  induced  that  jealous  monarch  to  do  homage  to 
the  Roman  Standards.  He  had  been  Consul  three 
times,  had  been  the  colleague  of  the  Emperor  in  the 
Censorship,  and  had  been  his  vice-gerent  during  the 
British  expedition.  Less  creditable  to  him  was  the 
extraordinary  genius  for  flattery  which  he  developed. 
When  he  came  back  from  Syria  he  found  Caligula 
on  the  throne.  It  was  one  of  that  mad  prince's 
caprices  to  fancy  himself  a  god;  Vitellius  fooled 
him  to  the  top  of  his  bent.  He  did  not  venture 
to  approach  so  radiant  a  being  except  with  a  veil 
over  his  face,  and  in  a  prostrate  attitude. 

Claudius'  weakness  was  a  foolish  fondness  for  a 
profligate  wife  and  for  worthless  freedmen.  Vitellius 
promptly  accommodated  himself  to  it.  He  begged 
as  a  special  favour  from  the  Emperor  that  he  might 
be  allowed  to  unfasten  the  Empress's  shoes ;  and  he 
was  wont  to  carry  one  of  her  slippers  between  his 
gown  and  his  tunic  and  might  be  seen  frequently 
kissing  it.  He  must  have  been  between  sixty  and 
seventy  when  he  acted  this  degrading  part,  for  he 
had  the  satisfaction  about  this  time  of  seeing  his 
two  sons  raised  to  the  consulship  in  the  same 
year. 

The  Emperor's  freedmen  he  complimented  by  putting 
their  busts,  executed  in  gold,  among  his  household 
gods.  He  surpassed  himself,  when,  congratulating 
Claudius    on    the    occasion    of   the    Secular    Games, 


AN  IMPERIAL  GLUTTON.  171 

(exhibited  once  only  in  a  hundred  years),  he  wished 
him  "many  happy  returns  of  the  day."  And  yet 
he  had  good  qualities.  Suetonius  describes  him  as 
a  man  of  energy  who  never  injured  others,  and 
Tacitus  declares  that  though  many  things  were  said, 
and  not  untruly  said  against  him,  he  showed  the 
high  qualities  belonging  to  better  times. 

Aulus,  the  elder  of  his  two  sons,  had  no  such 
good  qualities.  He  showed  something  of  his  father's 
talent  for  flattery.  He  ingratiated  himself  with 
Caligula  by  assisting  in  his  favorite  pursuit  of 
chariot  driving;  played  dice  with  Claudius;  and 
delighted  Nero,  who,  anxious  publicly  to  exhibit  his 
skill  on  the  harp^  was  still  ashamed  to  do  it,  by 
conveying  to  him  what  he  represented  as  the  unani- 
mous wish  of  the  people  for  the  performance.  Such 
services  had  of  course  to  be  rewarded.  Offices, 
sacred  and  secular,  were  heaped  upon  him ;  he  was 
sent  to  govern  Africa,  a  duty  which  he  performed, 
strange  to  say,  with  singular  integrity,  though  in 
Rome  he  had  been  accused  of  pilfering  ornaments 
from  the  temples,  and  exchanging  the  gold  and 
silver  for  baser  metals. 

Then    came    the    honour   which  was  to  prove  the 

occasion  of  his  elevation  and  of  his  downfall.     He  was 

appointed    to    the    command    of   the  army  of  Lower 

Germany.     The    choice — it    was    made    by  Galba — 

astonished     everyone.     It    was    the    most   important 
12 


172  AN   IMPERIAL   GLUTTON. 

command  in  the  Empire,  for  nowhere  had  the  frontier  to 
be  so  diligently  guarded,  and  Vitellius,  who  had  never 
seen  any  military  service,  was  confessedly  incompe- 
tent.. 

Some  found  the  reason  of  this  strange  promotion 
in  the  influence  of  Vinius.  Vinius  and  Vitellius  had 
been  associated  as  partisans  of  the  "Blues,"  one  of 
the  factions  of  the  Circus,  *  amply  sufficient  reason, 
it  was  thought,  in  the  eyes  of  a  notoriously  unprin- 
cipled favourite.  Others  declared  that  the  choice 
was  Galba's  own,  and  was  due  to  his  jealousy  of 
any  ability  in  his  subordinates.  "  There  is  no  reason 
to  be  afraid  of  men  who  think  of  nothing  but  eating, " 
he  is  reported  to  have  said.  "  As  for  Vitellius  even 
his  boundless  appetite  will  be  satisfied  with  what  he 
finds  in  a  province,  and  no  one  will  suppose  that 
I  chose  him  for  any  other  reason  but  my  con- 
tempt. " 

The  new  general  was  so  miserably  poor — his  means 
having  been  wasted  by  extravagant  living — that  he 
was  without  money  for  his  travelling  expenses.  He 
had  to  let  his  town  mansion,  putting  his  wife  and 
children  into  hired  lodgings,  while  he  pledged  a  costly 
pearl  ear-ring  which  his  mother  was  accustomed  to 
wear.  Even  then  he  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in 
escaping  a  swarm  of  importunate  creditors,  the  most 

*  See  note  at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 


AN    IMPERIAL   GLUTTON.  173 

troublesome  among  them  being  the  inhabitants  of  two 
Italian  towns,  the  revenues  of  which  he  had  embezzled. 
He  contrived  to  get  away  by  threatening  them  with 
an  action  for  defamation  of  character.  One  unfortunate 
man  who  demanded  his  due  somewhat  energetically 
he  accused  of  personal  violence,  and  actually  recovered 
from  him  a  handsome  sum  of  money. 

The  army  received  him  with  open  arms.  It  had 
been  greatly  irritated  by  the  treatment  it  had  received 
from  the  Emperor.  Verginius,  its  commander,  a  very 
able  soldier,  and  popular  with  his  troops,  was  kept 
in  attendance  at  court,  not  because  Galba  liked  him, 
but  because  he  suspected  him.  The  army  had  in- 
deed offered  him  the  Empire,  and  felt  that  it  was 
regarded  with  dislike.  Accordingly,  it  was  ready  for 
change.  The  men  were  strongly  prepossessed  in 
favour  of  Vitellius.  He  was  the  son  of  a  distinguished 
father ;  he  had  a  commanding  presence ;  he  was  open- 
handed  and  good-natured.  His  absolute  want  of  cour- 
age and  ability  was  still  unknown.  His  arrival  was 
preceded  by  golden  reports  of  his  affability.  He  was 
said  to  greet  even  common  soldiers  with  a  kiss,  and 
to  mix  with  grooms  and  casual  travellers  on  terms 
of  even  vulgar  familiarity.  Once  established  in  head- 
quarters his  easy  and  indulgent  temper  showed  itself. 
No  one  had  to  proffer  a  petition  in  vain;  soldiers 
degraded  for  misconduct  were  restored  to  their  rank ; 
condemned    criminals    were    pardoned.      Scarcely    a 


174  AN   IMPERIAL    GLUTTON. 

month  had  passed  before  the  legions  saluted  him 
Emperor.  He  accepted  this  dignity,  and  was  carried 
round  the  camp,  holding  in  his  hand  a  sword  that 
had  belonged  to  the  great  Julius.  Some  one  had 
taken  it  down  from  the  wall  of  the  Temple  of  Mars,  * 
and  presented  it  to  him.  He  made  no  oration  to  the 
soldiers,  but  the  few  words  that  he  said  indicated 
some  readiness  and  presence  of  mind.  A  room  in 
the  head-quarters  had  caught  fire,  and  there  was 
general  consternation,  not  without  a  feeling  that  the 
incident  was  an  evil  omen  for  the  future.  "Cheer 
up,  my  men ! "  cried  the  Prince,  "  there  is  a  light 
on  the  path." 

The  story  of  his  march  to  Rome  need  not  be  told 
here.  The  victory  was  won  for  him  by  his  lieutenants. 
He  made — indeed  he  was  called  upon  to  make — no 
effort.  After  the  victory  at  Bedriacum  he  disbanded 
the  whole  Praetorian  Guard  for  having  fought  for  his 
rival.  Among  Otho's  papers  he  found  a  hundred  and 
twenty  memorials  from  persons  who  declared  that 
they  had  had  a  share  in  the  death  of  Galba.  He 
ordered  all  these  claimants  to  be  put  to  death. 
Suetonius  loudly  praises  the  act  as  giving  the  highest 
hopes  of  what  a  ruler  he  might  have  been.  After 
all  it  must  have  been  dictated  only  by  an  instinct 
of   self-preservation.     No    ruler   feels  that  the  mur- 

*  Probably  a  building  within  the  precincts  of  the  camp. 


AN   IMPERIAL   GLUTTON.  175 

der  of  a  predecessor  is  a  thing  to  be  rewarded, 
however  much  he  may  himself  have  profited  by  the 
act. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  man's  temper  began 
to  shoAV  itself  in  its  true  light.  He  indulged  in  the 
most  extravagant  luxury  as  he  marched  southwards. 
Nothing  was  too  costly  for  his  travelling  equipment, 
nothing  too  recherche  for  his  banquets.  His  easy 
temper,  too,  was  not  inconsistent  with  much  brutality. 
He  visited  the  field  of  battle  at  Bedriacum,  when  the 
ground  was  still  covered  with  the  unburied  coi-pses 
of  the  slain.  His  suite  complained  of  the  intolerable 
stench.  "To  me,"  said  Vitellius,  "there  is  nothing 
sweeter  than  the  smell  of  a  dead  enemy,  especially 
if  he  is  a  countryman."  He  was  not  unwilling  however 
to  refresh  himself  and  his  companions  with  copious 
draughts  of  unmixed  wine.  He  jeered  at  the  modest 
stone  which  covered  the  remains  of  Otho,  and  ordered 
the  dagger  with  v/hieh  his  rival  had  slain  himself  to 
be  hung  up  in  the  temple  of  Mars  in  the  Colonia 
Agrippinensis.  * 

The  man's  recklessness  and  folly,  when  he  felt 
himself  firmly  seated  on  the  throne,  exceeded  all 
bounds.  He  rode  into  Rome  clad  in  his  military 
cloak  and  with  his  sword  at  his  side,  to  the  sound 
of  martial    music,    while   his    escort   followed    fully 

*  So  called  from  Agrippina,  the  wife  of  Germanicus.  It  is 
now  Cologne. 


176  AN    IMPEEIAL    GLUTTON. 

armed.  It  was  the  immemorial  custom  that  a  soldier 
returning  from  service  must  put  on  the  garb  of 
peace  before  he  could  pass  the  Gates,  unless  indeed 
the  honour  of  a  triumph  had  been  conferred  upon 
him.  All  Rome  was  shocked  when  he  published  an 
edict  on  a  day  *  marked  as  unlucky  in  the  public 
calendar  as  having  been  that  on  which  the  disasters 
of  Cremera  and  Allia  f  had  happened.  The  respect- 
able classes  were  not  less  horrified  when  he  caused 
a  solemn  funeral  service  to  be  performed  in  the 
Field  of  Mars  to  the  memory  of  Nero.  This  was 
the  model  he  seemed  to  propose  to  himself  for  imita- 
tion. As  to  the  business  of  government,  he  allowed 
it  to  be  conducted  by  the  actors  and  jockeys  with 
whom  he  delighted  to  surround  himself.  It  was  on 
the  pleasures  of  the  table  that  he  spent  his  whole 
energy.  A  Roman  was  commonly  content  with  two 
meals  a  day;  Vitellius  had  always  three,  and  some- 
times four.  He  prepared  himself  for  these  by  the 
constant  use  of  emetics.  His  courtiers  were  com- 
monly directed  to  supply  these  entertainments.  It 
was  understood  that  a  meal  must  never  cost  less 
than  ^*^4000.  But  the  most  sumptuous  entertain- 
ment   of   his    reign,    which   happily    did  not  extend 

*July,  ISth. 

t  At  Cremera  (B.C.  477)  the  whole  of  the  Fabii  had  perish- 
ed; at  Allia  (B.C.  390)  the  Romans  had  suffered  a  disastrous 
defeat    from    the    Gauls    under    Brennus. 


AN    IMPERIAL    GLUTTON.  177 

beyond  six  months,  was  that  given  to  him  by  his 
brother  on  his  arrival  in  Rome.  At  this,  two  thou- 
sand choice  fishes  and  seven  thousand  choice  birds 
are  said  to  have  been  served.  His  own  most  con- 
spicuous achievement  in  this  line  was  the  manufacture 
of  an  enormous  dish— so  vast  in  size  he  called  it 
the  shield  of  "Minerva  the  city-keeper."*  This  was 
filled  with  the  livers  of  a  rare  kind  of  fish,  (Possibly 
the  "corasse,"  but  not  certainly  known)  the  brains  of 
pheasants  and  peacocks,  the  tongues  of  flamingoes — 
Apicius  was  credited  with  the  discovery  that  the 
tongues  of  flamingoes  had  a  special  delicacy  of  fla- 
vour—and the  small  intestines  of  another  fish, 
equally  rare  with  the  first,  and,  equally  difficult 
to  identify.  These  dainties  had  been  collected  by 
specially  commissioned  persons  from  the  eastern 
borders  of  the  Empire  to  the  Pillars  of  Hercules. 
But  Vitellius'  appetite  did  not  restrict  itself  to  these 
costly  viands.  It  was  enormous,  and  its  demands 
were  incessant.  Even  at  a  sacrifice  he  could  not 
keep  his  hands  off  the  flesh  and  the  salted  meal; 
and  he  could  relish  even  the  coarse  food  that  could 
be  bought  in  the  common  cook-shops. 

From  the  torpor  into  which  his  perpetual  excesses 
plunged  him,  he  seems  never  to  have  roused  him- 
self  except   to    commit   some    fresh   act  of  cruelty. 

*  In  allusion  to  a  colossal  statue  of  the  goddess  at  Athens. 
12 


178  AN   IMPERIAL    GLUTTON. 

He  would  make  much  of  old  friends,  sharing  with 
them,  it  might  be  said,  everything  but  the  imperial 
power  itself,  and  then  suddenly  turn  upon  them, 
and  put  them  to  death.  To  one  who  was  suffering 
from  fever  he  paid  what  seemed  to  be  a  friendly 
visit,  and  mixed  poison  in  the  cup  of  cold  water  he 
handed  to  the  sick  man.  His  old  creditors  were 
made  to  suffer  for  the  annoyance  which  they  had 
given  him.  Scarcely  one  was  allowed  to  escape. 
On  one  occasion  he  was  supposed  to  have  pardoned 
the  offender,  for  after  ordering  him  to  execution,  he 
recalled  him.  "What  a  clement  prince!"  exclaimed 
the  courtiers.  But  the  "clement  prince"  had  done 
it  only  to  "feast  his  eyes,"  as  he  put  it,  with  the 
sight  of  the  poor  wretch's  death.  One  wealthy  man 
cried  out  as  he  was  being  carried  off  by  the  execu- 
tioner, "Sire,  you  are  my  heir."  Vitellius  called 
for  the  man's  will,  and  finding  he  shared  the  inherit- 
ance with  a  freedman,  ordered  the  testator  and 
his  co-legatee  to  be  put  to  death.  His  victims 
were  taken  even  from  the  lowest  classes;  it  was 
enough  if  a  man  was  heard  to  wish  bad  luck  to 
the  "Blues."  That  was  thought  to  be  treason  to 
the  Emperor.  The  one  memorable  event  of  his 
reign  is  related  in  the  next  chapter.  It  only 
remains  to  tell  the  story  of  his  end.  When  the 
troops  of  Vespasian's  lieutenants  had  found  their 
way  into  the  city,   the  wretched  man  was  paralysed 


AN   IMPERIAL    GLUTTON.  179 

by  fear.  His  first  idea  was  to  make  his  way  to 
his  private  house,  hide  himself  there  or  elsewhere 
for  the  day,  and  fly  on  the  morrow  to  Tarracona, 
where  his  brother  still  had  some  troops.  Then,  to 
follow  the  words  of  Tacitus,  "with  characteristic 
weakness,  and  following  the  instincts  of  fear,  which 
dreading  everything,  shrinks  most  from  what  is 
immediately  before  it,  he  retraced  his  steps  to  the 
desolate  and  forsaken  palace,  whence  even  the 
meanest  slaves  had  fled  or  where  they  avoided 
his  presence.  The  solitude  and  silence  of  the  place 
scared  him;  he  tried  the  closed  doors,  he  shuddered 
in  the  empty  chambers,  till,  wearied  out  with  his 
miserable  wanderings,  he  concealed  himself  in  some 
wretched  hiding-place,  from  which  he  was  dragged 
by  the  tribune  Julius  Placidus.  His  hands  were 
bound  behind  his  back;  and  he  was  led  along  with 
tattered  robes,  a  revolting  spectacle,  amid  the 
execrations  of  many,  the  tears  of  none.  The  degrad- 
ation   of   his    end   had   extinguished   all  pity. 

One  of  the  German  soldiers  met  the  party,  he  aimed 
a  deadly  blow  at  Vitellius,  perhaps  in  anger,  perhaps 
wishing  to  put  him  out  of  his  misery.  Possibly  the 
blow  was  meant  for  the  Tribune.  Anyhow  it  cut  off 
that  officer's  ear,  and  the  soldier  was  immediately 
despatched.  The  fallen  Emperor,  compelled  by 
thi-eatening  swords,  first  to  raise  his  face  and  offer 
it  to  insulting  blows,  then  to  behold  his  own  statues 


ISO  AN    IMPERIAL    GLUTTON. 

falling  round  him,  and  more  than  once  to  look  at 
the  hustings  and  tlie  spot  where  Galba  was  slain, 
was  then  driven  along  till  they  reached  the  Gemo- 
niae,  the  place  where  the  corpse  of  Flavius  Sabinus 
had  lain.  One  speech  only  was  heard  from  him 
shewing  a  spirit  not  utterly  degraded,  when  to  the 
insults  of  a  Tribune  he  answered,  "Yet  I  was  your 
Emperor."  Then  he  fell  under  a  shower  of  blows, 
the  mob  reviling  him  when  he  was  dead  as  heart- 
lessly as  they  had  flattered  him  when  he  was  alive. 

Note  on  the  Factions  of  the  Circus. 

The  "factions"  of  the  Circus  were,  in  the  time  of  the  Empire, 
companies  of  contractors  who  supplied  all  the  requisites  for  the 
chariot  races  which  were  one  of  the  chief  amusements  of  the 
Circus.  Gibbon  notes  the  difference  between  the  Greek  and 
Roman  ways  of  thinking  on  this  matter.  In  Greece  princes 
and  nobles  thought  it  a  privilege  to  compete  in  the  chariot 
races  of  Olympia  and  an  almost  unequalled  distinction  to  suc- 
ceed in  them.  In  Homer  we  have  the  kings  and  chiefs  driving 
their  own  chariots  in  the  race;  and  doubtless  in  historical  times 
it  was  always  open  to  the  owner  of  the  chariot  and  team 
to  do  so.  Probably,  liowever,  he  was  commonly  represented 
by  some  one  else,  as  was  Hiero,  King  of  Syracuse,  when  he 
secured  the  victories  celebrated  by  Pindar,  or  Alcibiades  when 
he  entered  no  less  than  seven  chariots  at  once.  But  the  driver 
had  ceitainly  to  be  a  Greek  of  pure  descent  and  unblemished 
character.  At  Rome  the  charioteer  was  commonly  a  slave, 
supplied  by  the  factio.  It  is  true  that  the  fascination  of  the 
sport  was  such  that  young  nobles  and  sometimes  Emperors  of 
the    less    worthy    sort    engaged    in    it,    but    this    conduct    was 


AN   IMPERIAL   GLUTTON.  181 

condemned  by  the  public  opinion  of  the  reputable  classes. 
These,  it  is  clear,  looked  askance  even  on  a  man  driving  his 
own  horses,  when  no  race  was  concerned.  They  seemed  to 
regard  it  much  as  an  Oriental  regards  dancing,  astonished  to 
see  any  person  of  position  do  what  he  can  hire  persons  to  do 
for  him.  Apparently  then,  whatever  might  happen  in  exceptional 
cases,  the  factions  supplied  chariots,  horses  and  drivers  being 
paid  for  their  trouble  and  expenses  by  the  giver  of  the 
entertainment.  Each  association  was  distinguished  by  a  peculiar 
colour  which  was  worn  by  all  its  employes.  In  the  early  days 
of  the  Empire  there  were  two  associations  only  and  two  colours, 
red  and  white  (rosata  and  albata).  Before  the  end  of  the 
reign  of  Augustus  a  third,  blue  (veneta)  was  added,  and  not 
long  afterwards  a  fourth,  green  (prasina).  Domitian  added  two 
others  purple  and  gold.  But  these  additions  do  not  seem  to 
have  established  themselves.  In  fact  the  blue  and  green 
factions  seem  ultimately  to  have  absorbed  their  rivals.  Much 
partisanship  was  shown  by  the  spectators  in  respect  to  these 
associations,  and  large  sums  of  money  were  wagered  on  the 
success  of  one  or  the  other.  The  rivalry  often  ended  in  actual 
conflict;  and  the  "faction  fights*  of  the  Circus  became  a  cause 
of  serious  disturbance  at  times  when  the  government  of  Rome 
was  in  weak  hands.  We  hear  of  these  disgraceful  incidents 
from  time  to  time  down  to  the  extinction  of  the  Western 
Empire;  after  its  fall  we  find  .Theodoris  ordering  a  judicial 
inquiry  into  an  uproar  which  had  resulted  in  the  death  of  a  "  green." 
At  Constantinople,  when  the  seat  of  Empire  was  transferred 
to  that  city,  the  disorder  broke  out  in  a.  more  aggravated 
form.  It  was  complicated  with  religious  differences.  The 
Emperor  Anastatius  I.  (490 — 518)  while  a  follower  of  the 
heresy  of  Eutychus  was  a  partisan  of  the  "green"  faction. 
In  his  reign  the  "greens"  are  said  to  have  murdered  three 
thousand  of  their  "blue"  adversaries.     Justinian  who  ascended 


182  AN    IMPERIAL    GLUTTON. 

the  throne  in  527  was  orthodox  and  a  favourer  of  the  "  blues," 
and  under  his  patronage  they  had  an  ample  revenge.  The  reader 
may  consult  Gibbon's  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire 
IV.  302—309  (Bohn's  Edition)  for  a  full  account  of  the  terrible 
riots  which  took  place  in  the  reign  of  Justinian. 


xxu. 

THE  BUUNING  OF  THE  CAPITOL. 

THE  last  month  of  the  tragical  "  year  of  the  three 
Emperors"  had  begun,  and  the  throne  of  Vitellius, 
the  last  of  the  three,  was  tottering  to  its  fall.  About 
seven  weeks  before,  Bedriacum,  the  battle-field  on 
which  Otho's  fortunes  had  received  a  fatal  blow, 
had  witnessed  the  discomfiture  of  the  army  of  his 
successor. 

At  first  Vitellius  had  refused  to  credit  the  news  of 
this  disaster;  an  officer  sent  by  himself  to  examine 
the  state  of  affairs  found  his  report  refused  belief 
and  himself  charged  with  having  been  bribed  to 
exaggerate  the  defeat. 

"You  want  a  proof;'  he  exclaimed,  "as  my 
life  or  death  can  be  of  no  further  use  to  you,  I 
will  give  you  one  that  you  can  trust, "  and  leaving 
the  imperial  presence  he  put  an  end  to  his  own 
life.     Then    only   the    supine    Vitellius    was    roused 


184  THE    BURNING    OF    THE    CAPITOL. 

to  action.  He  sent  a  strong  force  to  occupy  the 
passes  of  the  Apennines,  and  even  summoned 
up  resolution  to  leave  Rome,  and  show  himself  in 
the  camp.  Even  this  vigorous  action  might  have  at 
least  postponed  the  end,  if  it  could  not  change  the 
issue  of  the  campaign.  But  Vitellius  had  no  faithful 
friends,  and  had  lost  all  his  energies  in  excess.  He 
returned  hastily  to  Rome  and  not  long  afterwards 
the  army  which  he  had  deserted  surrendered  to  the 
generals  of  Vespasian. 

There  was  still  a  possibility,  even  a  probability 
of  a  final  struggle  for  the  possession  of  Rome,  and 
this  the  conquerors  were  anxious  to  avoid.  They 
offered  terms  to  Vitellius.  His  life  should  be  spared; 
his  property  should  remain  intact,  and  he  might 
choose  any  retreat  that  he  pleased  for  the  remainder 
of  his  days,  if  only  he  would  quietly  abdicate  power. 
The  terms  of  an  agreement  were  actually  discussed 
between  the  Emperor  and  Flavins  Sabinus,  the  elder 
brother  of  Vespasian,  and  at  that  time  Governor  of 
the  city.  The  two  had  several  meetings,  the  last 
being  held  in  the  famous  library  of  the  Palatine 
Apollo  *  in  the  presence  of  Cluvius  Rufus  a  governor 
of  Spain,  and  Silius  Italicus,  one  of  the  consuls,  the 
author  of  the  Punica,  a  still  extant  poem  of  which 
every    scholar   knows    the    name,    but    which    has 

*  Built  and  furnished  with  books  by  Augustus,  B.C.  37. 


THE    BURNING    OF   THE    CAPITOL.  185 

very  seldom  been  read,  so  portentous  is  its  dulness. 

Vitellius  was  ready  enough  to  abdicate.  His  spirit 
was  completely  crushed.  It  was  a  more  creditable 
motive  that  he  hoped  to  secure  the  safety  of  his 
family  by  a  speedy  submission.  His  followers  were 
otherwise  disposed. 

"Vespasian,"  they  told  him,  "cannot  afford  to 
spare  you.  Whatever  promises  he  may  now  make 
you  of  a  peaceful  life  in  some  luxurious  retreat, 
be  sure  that  he  will  not  keep  them.  Neither 
his  friends  nor  yours  will  allow  him  to  do  so,  for 
peace  would  never  be  assured  while  there  was  an 
ex-Emperor  alive.  Caesar  could  not  let  Pompey  live, 
nor  Augustus  Antony;  possibly  Vespasian  may  be 
more  magnanimous,  Vespasian  who  used  to  wait  on 
a  Vitellius  when  he  was  the  Emperor's  colleague.  * 
Anyhow  a  man  who  has  had  so  many  honours  of 
his  own,  and  inherited  so  many  from  his  father  is 
bound  not  to  fall  without  a  struggle." 

All  this  made  little  or  no  impression  on  the  Emperor. 
He  had  at  least  the  merit  of  being  resigned  to  his 
fate,  and  he  was  above  all  things  anxious  to  bespeak 
the  favour  of  the  conqueror  for  his  wife  and 
children. 

On  the  18th  of  December  he  heard  of  the  defection 

*  In  the  consulship,  the  Emperor,  of  course,  heinc;  Claudius. 
It  does  not  appear  that  Vitellius  was  ever  consul  in  the  same 
year  with  Claudius;  his  father  was  so  in  A.  D,  47. 


186         THE  BURNING  OF  THE  CAPITOL. 

of  the  force  which  was  garrisoning  the  Apennine  passes, 
and  proceeded  to  carry  out  his  intention  of  abdicating. 
He  left  the  Palace  at  the  head  of  a  procession  of 
freedmen  and  slaves  which  bore  all  the  melancholy 
aspect  of  a  funeral,  and  walked  to  the  Forum.  Such 
a  sight,  the  historian  tells  us,  had  never  before  been 
witnessed  in  Rome.  Other  Emperors  had  fallen ;  the 
great  Julius  had  been  struck  down  in  the  Senate 
House ;  Caligula  had  been  slain  in  the  retirement  of 
his  palace;  Nero  had  perished,  but  it  was  where  there 
had  been  none  to  see  it;  Galba  had  fallen,  it  might 
be  said,  on  the  battle-field.  Here  was  a  man,  who  but 
the  day  before  had  been  the  master  of  the  world, 
voluntarily  giving  up  his  throne  in  an  assembly  called 
by  himself,  and  before  soldiers  who  had  sworn  alle- 
giance   to   him. 

After  a  brief  speech  in  which  he  announced 
his  resignation,  and  an  earnest  entreaty  to  all 
who  were  present  that  they  would  protect  his 
son — the  child  was  present — Vitellius  unfastened  the 
dagger  which  he  carried  at  his  side  and  which  was 
the  emblem  of  his  power  of  life  and  death,  and  would 
have  given  it  up  to  the  consul.  The  consul  refused 
to  receive  it,  and  there  was  a  general  shout  of  protest. 
Vitellius  then  turned  away,  intending  to  deposit  the 
emblem  of  imperial  power  in  the  Temple  of  Concord, 
and  to  take  up  his  abode  in  his  brother's  house. 
His  partisans  refused  to  allow  him  to  enter  a  private 


THE   BURNING    OF    THE    CAPITOL.  187 

mansion,  and  blocked  up  every  road  but  that  which 
led  to  the  Palace.     Thither  accordingly  he  returned. 

Flavins  Sabinus  had  heard  of  this  resolve  to  abdicate, 
and  had  taken  measures  accordingly,  especially  writing 
to  the  Tribunes  of  the  Praetorians  to  confine  their 
soldiers  to  their  quarters.  He  was  in  fact  preparing 
to  act  as  his  brother's  vice-gerent,  when  he  and  his 
friends  were  startled  by  the  report  that  the  intention 
of  Vitellius  had  been  baffled.  Sabinus  had  now  gone 
too  far  to  retreat.  He  was  advised  to  take  up  arms; 
but  some  who  gave  this  counsel  declined  to  share 
the  risk.  A  collision  took  place  between  his  party 
and  the  adherents  of  Vitellius,  and  Sabinus  found  it 
his  safest  course  to  occupy  the  Capitoline  Hill  with 
such  a  force  as  he  had  at  his  disposal,  a  miscella- 
neous company  of  troops  with  a  few  senators  and 
knights.  Some  ladies  unwilling  to  leave  brothers, 
children,  or  husbands,  went  with  him.  One,  Verulana 
Gratilla  *  by  name,  had  no  motive  but  the  sheer  love 
of  adventure. 

The  troops  of  Vitellius  blockaded  the  Capitol,  but 
kept   so  indifferent  a  watch   that  Sabinus  was  able 

*  We  know  nothing  more  of  this  lady  than  that  she  is 
mentioned  by  Pliny  as  one  of  the  patriotic  party,  as  it  may  be 
called  (See  c.  XXXJI).  Probably  she  had  hailed  the  prospect  of 
a  better  state  of  things  under  Vespasian,  and  was  enthusiastic 
in  his  cause.  Tacitus  evidently  does  not  admire  her  masculine 
"nergy. 


188  THE  BURNING    OF   THE    CAPITOL. 

at  dead  of  iiiglit  to  bring  his  own  children  and  his 
nephew  Domitian  into  the  Capitol,  and  to  send  a 
message  to  the  generals,  commanding  the  advancing 
force,  begging  for  speedy  relief.  He  had  no  means, 
he  informed  them,  of  standing  a  long  siege.  He 
might  have  escaped,  so  negligent  were  the  besiegers, 
but  for  some  reason  preferred  to  remain. 

Early  the  next  morning  he  despatched  a  praetorian 
officer  to  Yitellius.  The  envoy  was  the  bearer  of  a 
strong  remonstrance.  "  Was  the  abdication, "  Sabinus 
asked,  "  a  mere  pretence  intended  to  delude  a  number 
of  distinguished  men  ?  If  you  were  bent  on  resigning, 
why  not  go  quietly  to  your  wife's  house  on  the 
Aventine,  where  no  one  would  have  seen  you.  Your 
brother's  mansion,  overlooking  the  Forum  as  it  does, 
was  most  dangerously  public.  I  was  still  faithful  to 
you,  though  province  after  province,  army  after  army 
had  left  you.  Brother  as  I  am  to  Vespasian,  I  did 
nothing  in  his  interest,  till  you  yourself  invited  mo 
to  treat.  What  good  will  it  do  you  to  slay  an  old 
man  and  a  boy?  If  you  want  to  fight  for  your 
throne,  go  and  meet  the  armies  of  your  rival  in  the 
field." 

Vitellius  had  nothing  to  reply,  except  that  he  was 
not  his  own  master;  the  troops  had  taken  the  law 
into  their  own  hands,  and  he  could  not  hold  them 
back.  He  could  not  even  protect  the  person  of  the 
envoy,    and    advised   him  to  leave  the  Palace  unob- 


THE   BURNING    OF   THE   CAPITOL.  189 

served,  if  he  would  escape  death  at  the  hands  of  the 
soldiers. 

The  officer  had  scarcely  regained  the  Capitol  when 
a  furious  onslaught  was  made  on  the  place  by  the 
besieging  force  on  the  position  of  Sabinus.  The 
Capitoline  Hill  had  two  summits,  the  Citadel  (Arx)  on 
the  North  east,  the  Capitol  proper  on  the  South- 
west. *  Between  them  was  a  depression  known  as 
the  Asylum.  There  were  two  approaches:  one  ac- 
cessible by  vehicles,  called  the  slope  (clivus) ;  another 
for  pedestrians  only,  the  hundred  steps.  The  assailants 
first  attempted  the  former.  It  was  flanked  on  the 
right  by  a  colonnade,  and  the  besieged  mounting  the 
roof  of  this  building  showered  down  stones  and  tiles 
on  the  attacking  party.  These  were  armed  with 
swords  only.  To  send  for  regular  siege  artillery 
meant  long  delay;  they  replied  by  hurling  lighted 
torches  on  to  the  colonnade.  The  building  caught  fire 
and  the  conflagration  spread  to  the  doors  which,  at 
the  top  of  the  ascent,  closed  the  entrance  to  the 
Capitol  itself.  These  were  partially  burnt  through, 
and  would  have  given  way  but  for  an  extemporised 
wall  built  up  behind  them  out  of  the  statues,  many  of 
them  works  of  great  antiquity  and  interest,  with  which 
the   place   was    ornamented.    An   assault   was   now 

*  Tacitus  says  that  Sabinus  occupied  the  Citadel  of  the  Capi- 
tol (arcem  Capitolinam),  but  he  seems  to  mean  the  whole  of 
the  hill. 


190  THE   BURNING   OF   THE   CAPITOL. 

delivered  in  two  fresh  directions,  one  by  the  hundred 
steps,  the  other  by  the  Asylum.  It  was  the  second 
of  these  attacks  which  seemed  the  more  formidable. 
The  fact  was  that  the  Capitol  had  ceased  to  be  a 
fortress.  During  a  long  period  of  peace,  buildings 
had  been  allowed  to  grow  up  in  the  valleys  between 
the  two  hills,  the  roofs  of  which  were  on  a  level  with 
the  higher  ground  on  either  side.  The  besiegers 
climbed  on  to  these  roofs,  and  superior  as  they  were 
both  in  numbers  and  courage,  could  not  be  dislodged. 
And  now  occurred  the  fatal  catastrophe  which  made 
the  day  one  of  the  most  disastrous  in  the  history  of 
Rome.  Whether  the  besieged  tried  to  drive  back  the 
attacking  party  by  using  fire-brands  against  them,  or 
whether  the  latter  tried  again  the  tactics  that  they 
had  employed  successfully  before  is  not  certain. 
Tacitus  is  inclined  to  the  former  theory  of  the  cause 
of  the  conflagration.  The  result  was  that  the  flames 
caught  first  the  colonnades  round  the  three  temples,  * 
and  then  the  great  beams  (called  eagles)  which  sup- 
ported the  roofs.  In  a  few  moments  the  Capitol  was 
in  flames. 

This  deplorable  event,  which  Tacitus  does  not 
scruple  to  describe  as  the  greatest  humiliation  that 
Rome  had  ever  endured,  had  the  immediate  effect  of 
paralysing  the  defence.  The  troops,  mostly  unknown 

*Jupitus  (Capitolinus),  Juno,  and  Minerva. 


THE   BURNING    OF   THE   CAPITOL.  191 

to  each  other  and  unaccustomed  to  act  together,  were 
struck  with  panic ;  Sabinus  lost  his  presence  of  mind 
altogether.  He  seemed  unable  either  to  speak  plainly 
or  to  hear  what  was  said  to  him.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  anyone  could  have  saved  the  place ;  with 
Sabinus  it  was  hopeless.  Very  soon  the  assailants 
were  inside  the  walls,  and  though  a  few  officers 
preferred  to  die  sword  in  hand,  there  was  a  general 
rush  to  escape. 

In  this  many  succeeded.  Some  disguised  themselves 
as  slaves,  seme  were  protected  by  humble  friends, 
others,  again,  contrived  to  pick  up  the  watchword 
of  the  assailants  and  so  made  their  way  out  unhurt. 
Domitian  hid  himself  in  the  house  of  a  temple- 
servant. 

A  freedman  conceived  the  ingenious  idea  of  dressing 
him  up  in  the  white  linen  vestment  worn  by  the 
attendants  of  Isis.  He  thus  escaped  detection  for 
the  time,  and  found  shelter  afterwards  in  the  house 
of  a  humble  friend  of  the  family.  During  his  father's 
reign  he  showed  his  gratitude  by  building  a  chapel 
on  the  site  of  the  temple-servant's  house,  and  erecting 
an  altar  adorned  with  the  story  of  his  escape  represented 
in  marble;  when  he  became  Emperor  he  erected  a 
magnificent  temple  in  memory  of  the  incident.  Sabinus 
was  murdered  by  the  populace,  against  the  wishes 
of  Vitellius,  who  would  gladly  have  preserved  his 
life.     One   of   the  consuls,   who   was   captured   with 


192  THE    BURNING    OF    THE    CAPITOL. 

him,  escaped  by  taking  upon  himself  the  blame  of 
the  conflagration.  He  acknowledged,  or  rather  pre- 
tended, that  he  had  fired  the  Capitol  with  his  ov/n 
hand. 


xxm. 

A    STUDENT. 

THE  first  century  of  our  era  was  a  period  of  great 
literary  activity  at  Rome,  but  of  little  creative 
power.  We  must  allow,  indeed,  one  conspicuous 
exception  in  Tacitus — but  then  Tacitus  was  a  repub- 
lican born  out  of  due  time.  Perhaps  we  must  allow 
a  second  in  Juvenal,  only  that  the  genius  of  the 
satirist  is,  so  to  speak,  generated  by  the  very  cor- 
ruption of  the  age  in  which  he  lives. 

No  one  is  more  representative  of  this  literary  activity 
than  the  writer  who,  to  distinguish  him  from  his  nephew 
and  adopted  son,  is  spoken  of  as  the  Elder  Pliny.  Caius 
Plinius  Secundus  was  a  native  of  Gallia  Transpadana. 
Verona  (in  Venetia),  and  Como  (in  Lombardy),  con- 
tended for  the  honour- of  having  been  his  birth-place. 
The  balance  of  probability  inclines  to  the  former. 
His  family  connections  were  certainly  with  this  town. 
His    family    was    respectable    and   wealthy,   but  not 


194  A    STUDENT. 

distinguished.  He  was  the  first  of  this  name  known 
to  history.  He  seems  to  have  been  educated  at 
Rome.  In  his  twenty-third  year  he  entered  the  army, 
receiving  what  we  may  call  a  commission  in  a  troop 
of  auxiliary  horse.  (A  young  Roman  gentleman 
entered  the  army  either  as  a  centurion  in  the  infantry 
or  a  prefect  in  the  cavalry.  He  was  "  dry-nursed " 
by  an  experienced  officer  who  had  risen  from  the 
ranks.)  Here  his  literary  tastes  found  their  first 
employment.  The  young  captain  wrote  a  treatise  on 
the  art  of  using  the,  javelins  which  a  trooper  carried 
in  a  quiver  on  his  back,  and  began  a  more  serious 
work,  which  he  afterwards  completed,  on  the  "Cam- 
paigns of  Rome  in  Germany. "  He  used  to  say  that 
this  was  suggested  by  a  dream.  Drusus,  the  younger 
brother  of  Tiberius,  who  had  formed  a  plan  of 
reducing  Germany  from  the  Rhine  to  the  Elbe  into  a 
province,  but  died  before  it  could  be  executed,  seemed 
to  implore  him  not  to  allow  his  achievements  to  be 
forgotten. 

His  time  in  the  army  completed,  he  returned  to 
Rome,  and  wrote  a  treatise  in  three  books^  each  so 
large  that  it  had  to  be  divided  into  three  books,  on 
the  Training  of  the  Orator.  At  the  same  time  he 
engaged  in  actual  practice  in  the  courts.  Employment 
in  Spain  as  collector  of  imperial  revenues  followed. 
Still  the  book-making  went  on;  but  as  the  times 
were  perilous  (Nero  was  on  the  throne),  and  neutral 


A    STUDENT.  195 

subjects  were  safest,  he  wrote  a  treatise  in  eight 
books   on  '^Doubtful  Points  in  Style  and  Grammar." 

Under  Vespasian  and  Titus  he  still  had  high  official 
employment.  What  this  was  we  do  not  know,  except 
that  at  the  time  of  his  death  (of  which  more  here- 
after) he  was  admiral  of  the  fleet  at  Misenum.  His 
pen  was  still  busy.  To  this  period,  including  the 
last  ten  years  of  his  life,  belong  the  History  of  Rome 
in  twenty-one  books,  taking  up  the  subject  where 
Aufidius  Bassus  left  it  off,  probably  at  the  beginning 
of  the  reign  of  Claudius,  and  the  voluminous  work 
by  which  alone  he  is  known  to  us,  the  Natural 
History  in  thirty-seven  books. 

This  somewhat  dry  catalogue  of  his  official  and 
literary  employments  is  illustrated  in  a  very  interest- 
ing way  by  the  account  which  his  nephew  has  given 
(Epp.  iii.  5)  of  his  habits  as  a  student  and  a  man  of 
business.  In  both  capacities  he  seems  to  have  been 
absolutely    indefatigable. 

He  rose  very  early;  in  summer,  before  dawn; 
in  winter,  never  later  than  six  o'clock,  and 
sometimes  as  early  as  half-past  four.  This  very 
short  allowance  of  sleep  he  could  make  up  in  the 
course  of  the  day;  sometimes  he  would  take 
a  nap  over  his  books.  When  he  was  at  Rome, 
his  first  hours  were  given  to  business.  Vespasian 
was  as  early  a  riser  as  himself,  and  used  to  give  him 
audience  before  it  was  li"ht.     His  instructions  from 


196  A    STUDENT. 

the  Emperor  received,  he  proceeded  to  transact  the 
business  put  into  his  hands.  This  finished,  the  rest 
of  the  day  was  his  own,  and  was  given  to  study  or 
composition.  First  came  a  light  breakfast,  bread 
dipped  in  wine,  or,  perhaps,  eaten  with  honey; 
sometimes,  it  may  be,  figs  or  a  little  cheese.  This 
would  bring  him  to  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
After  breakfast,  if  the  weather  was  fine,  he  basked 
awhile  in  the  sun,  listening,  however,  to  the  reading 
of  some  book,  and  taking  notes  and  extracts.  It  was 
one  of  his  sayings  that  no  book  was  so  bad  but 
that  some  part  of  it  might  be  made  use  of.  Then 
came  a  cold  bath;  after  this,  luncheon  and  a  brief 
siesta.  This  brings  him  on,  it  will  be  seen,  to  noon. 
The  siesta  ended,  another  day  of  study  began. 

Neither  the  bath  nor  dinner  was  allowed  to  interrupt 
it.  While  he  was  actually  in  the  water,  the  reader  had 
to  stop,  but  when  the  student  was  either  scraping 
himself  down  (using,  i.e.,  the  strlgil,  a  very  rough 
flesh-brush,  but  made  of  horn  or  metal)  or  drying 
himself,  he  would  either  listen  or  dictate.  At  dinner 
the  reading  went  on,  as  it  goes  on  in  a  monastic 
refectory.  He  was  so  parsimonious  of  his  time 
that,  when  a  guest  on  one  occasion  corrected  a 
mistake  of  pronunciation,  he  reproved  him.  "  Did 
you  not  understand  him?"  he  asked.  The  guest 
allowed  that  he  had  understood.  "  Then  why  did 
you  make  him  go  over  it  all  again?  You  have  made 


A    STUDENT.  197 

me  lose  ten  lines  of  reading."  He  rose  from  table 
in  summer  before  it  was  dark  (Spurinna,  it  will  be 
remembered,  prolonged  the  repast  till  far  into  the 
night),  in  winter  before  six  o'clock.  (The  hours,  I  may 
remind  my  readers,  are  very  indefinite.)  In  vacation 
time,  i.e.j  when  he  had  no  official  duties,  the  whole 
day  was  given  to  study.  Even  the  time  that  had  to 
be  spent  on  journeying  to  and  from  Rome  was  not 
lost.  A  short-hand  writer  always  sat  by  his  side  in 
the  carriage ;  in  winter  the  man  wore  gloves  lest  the 
cold  should  hinder  him  from  writing.  As  it  was 
impossible  to  read,  listen,  dictate,  or  write  while 
walking,  he  never  used  to  walk.  In  the  country  he 
used  a  carriage,  in  town  a  litter.  His  nephew  incurred 
his  reproof  for  indulging  in  an  exercise  so  wasteful 
of  time.  "You  have  lost  all  these  hours,"  he  said; 
for  all  time  not  given  to  study  was,  he  thought,  lost. 
The  fruits  of  this  prodigious  industry  were  very 
great.  Besides  the  works  mentioned  above,  he  left 
at  his  death— and  he  died  in  his  fifty-sixth  year — a 
hundred  and  sixty  *  commonplace  books,"  filled  on 
both  sides  of  the  page,  (a  very  uncommon  practice) 
and  in  a  very  small  hand-writing,  with  the  extracts 
that  he  had  been  making  all  his  life  from  books.  For 
these  volumes  he  was  offered  between  three  and  four 
thousand  pounds,  and  this  was  when  he  was  in  Spain, 
and  the  number  was  considerably  less  than  it  after- 
wards   became.    "It  amuses  me,"  writes  his  nephew, 


198  A    STUDENT. 

"  to    hear  people  speak  of  me  as  a  student.  In  com- 
parison with  him  I  am  an  absolute  idler." 

The  story  of  Pliny's  last  days  is  a  curious  illus- 
tration of  many  of  the  characteristics  here  ascribed 
to  him,  while  it  supplies  others  of  a  very  creditable 
kind.  He  was  at  Misenum,  in  command,  as  has  been 
said,  of  the  fleet,  had  had  his  cold  bath  and  luncheon, 
and  was  busy  with  his  books.  (It  was  about  one 
o'clock  p.m.  on  the  25th.  of  August.)  His  sister  (the 
younger  Pliny's  mother)  told  him  of  a  strange  cloud 
that  was  visible  on  the  summit  of  Mt.  Vesuvius.  He 
took  a  look  at  it,  and  resolved  to  make  a  nearer 
investigation.  He  invited  his  nephew  (who  tells  the 
story)  to  join  him.  The  young  man  excused  himself, 
pleading  a  task  which  his  uncle  had  given  him  to  do. 
Just  as  he  left  the  house  news  reached  him  which 
changed  his  scientific  curiosity  into  an  eager  anxiety 
to  give  any  help  he  could  in  what  he  guessed  to  be 
some  terrible  convulsion  of  nature.  A  number  of  ships 
were  launched,  and  steered,  by  his  command,  straight 
to  the  scene  of  danger.  All  the  while,  he  was  taking 
and  recording  observations  of  phenomena.  Ashes  had 
begun  to  fall  upon  the  ships,  growing  hotter  and 
thicker  as  they  approached  the  shore.  Now  came  a 
shower  of  stones.  Then  the  water  grew  suddenly 
shallow.  It  was  suggested  that  they  should  turn  back. 
"No,"  said  the  philosopher,  "Fortune  favours  the  bold. 
Make  for  Pomponianus's  house. "     This  was  at  Stabiae 


A    STUDENT.  199 

(four  miles  south  of  Pompeii).  Pomponianus  had  put 
all  his  goods  on  shipboard,  and  was  wailing  till  the 
wind,  which  was  blowing  strongly  on  shore,  should 
subside.  Pliny  cheered  him  up,  said  that  he  should 
like  to  have  a  bath,  and  then  sat  down  to  dinner. 
He  was  cheerful,  or  w^hat,  says  his  nephew,  was 
equally  courageous,  feigned  to  be  so. 

The  flames  from  the  crater  of  Vesuvius  were  now 
visible  in  the  darkness.  Pliny  thought,  or  pretended 
to  think,  that  they  came  from  houses  that  had  been 
left  and  had  caught  fire.  T'len  he  went  to  bed  and 
slept  soundly,  being  heard  to  snore  loudly  (he  was 
very  stout,  says  his  nephew,  and  we  do  not  wonder 
after  what  we  have  heard  of  his  aversion  to  exercise). 
His  host  and  the  rest  of  the  party  were  too  much 
alarmed  to  sleep.  Meanwhile  the  open  court  in  the 
house  was  becoming  choked  with  cinders.  The  philo- 
sopher was  roused:  if  he  slept  longer,  it  would  be 
impossible  for  him  to  leave  his  chamber.  As  the 
inmates  of  the  house  were  now  assembled,  they  con- 
sulted as  to  what  had  best  be  done.  To  stay  within 
doors  was  dangerous,  for  the  house  might  fall  at  any 
moment,  so  severe  were  thq  shocks  of  earthquake. 
The  danger  would  be  scarcely  less  if  they  went  out, 
Large  masses  of  pumice  stone  were  perpetually  falling, 
and  these,  though  not  heavy,  might  be  fatal  to  life. 
Still,  the  latter  course  seemed,  on  the  whole,  the  safer. 
All  put  cushions  on  their  heads,  and  so  sallied  forth. 


200  A    STUDENT. 

It  was  now  day,  but  still  as  dark  as  night.  The 
party  made  their  way  down  to  the  shore,  wishing  to 
see  whether  they  could  embark.  All  looked  gloomy 
and  forbidding,  and  the  wind  still  blew  strongly  from 
the  sea.  Pliny  then  lay  down  on  a  sailcloth,  which 
had  been  spread  for  him,  and  asked  twice  for  a  draught 
of  cold  water.  A  strong  smell  of  sulphur  was  then 
observed.  The  rest  of  the  party  fled  in  terror,  but 
his  curiosity  was  excited.  He  lifted  himself  from  the 
ground  by  the  help  of  two  slave  boys,  and  almost 
instantly  fell.  The  rest  of  the  party  seem  to  have 
fled  for  their  lives  and  to  have  escaped;  how,  we  are 
not  told.  Some  days  afterwards  the  body  of  the 
philosopher  was  found,  without  any  marks  of  external 
injury,  and  with  the  calm  look  of  a  sleeper.  This 
makes  one  think  that  he  could  not  have  been  suffocated 
by  the  sulphurous  vapours,  as  his  nephew  thinks,  but 
that  he  died  from  heart-disease,  or  other  similar  cause. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  the  anxiety  to  personally 
investigate  remarkable  natural  phcenomena  is  not  char- 
acteristic of  the  Natural  History,  the  great  work — for 
it  is  great  in  some  respects — on  which  rests  Pliny's 
claim  to  the  character  of  a  man  of  science.  He  was 
an  arm-chair  philosopher.  His  industry,  as  we  might 
expect,  was  boundless.  In  his  list  of  authorities — this 
and  his  table  of  contents  are  features  almost  peculiar 
to  him  among  the  writers  of  antiquity — he  enumerates 
his  authorities.     These  amount  to  a  hundred ;  a  won- 


A    STUDENT.  201 

derful  total  when  we  consider  how  small  was  the 
whole  literature  of  the  world  as  compared  to  what 
it  is  now.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  quotes  from  more 
than  four  times  as  many  writers,  but  most  of  these 
he  did  not  rank  as  authorities.  But  he  was  a  coJ lector, 
not  an  investigator;  he  does  not  verify  or  criticise, 
but  heaps  up  astonishing  masses  of  facts  or  fictions 
more  or  less  marvellous.  He  writes  on  zoology,  botany, 
mineralogy,  astronomy,  perhaps  I  ought  to  add, 
anthropology,  without  having  any  pretension  to  be 
really  acquainted  with  any  of  these  sciences.  Some- 
times he  makes  mistakes  that  are  really  inexcusable, 
as  when  he  overstates  the  length  of  the  year  of  the 
planet  Venus  by  more  than  a  half  (348  days  instead 
of  225).  He  seems  to  have  transferred  the  contents 
of  his  note-books,  which  were  probably  labelled  with 
the  names  of  various  branches  of  knowledge,  with 
little  thought  either  of  where  he  was  putting  them  or 
whether  they  were  worth  putting  anywhere. 

Sometimes  he  may  have  corrected  his  authorities  ; 
the  story  that  I  have  told  of  his  end  shows  him  in  the 
character  of  an  enquirer,  but  the  whole  tenor  of  his 
life  was  that  of  a  man  who  sought  the  ultimate 
sources  of  knowledge  in  books.  In  this  he  contrasts 
remarkably  with  his  great  predecessor  Aristotle,  who 
set  the  highest  value  on  the  specimens  which  his 
pupil  Alexander  collected  for  him.  Aristotle  had  a 
museum,   but  Pliny  had  nothing  but  a  library.     His ... 


If  \i^^"^^' 


^']S^^ 


°l<.^^ 


202  A    STUDENT. 

book  is  vastly  entertaining ;  he  preserves  a  number 
of  facts  which  we  should  not  have  known  without 
his  help.  And  when  he  mentions  geographical  or 
historical  facts,  he  sometimes  fills  up  gaps  that  could 
hardly  be  supplied  anywhere  else.  And  he  is  not 
incapable  of  vigorous  thought.  Commonly,  indeed, 
he  somewhat  reminds  us  of  the  man  of  whom,  when 
commended  on  the  score  of  wisdom,  Robert  Hall 
is  reported  to  have  said,  "  He  has  put  so  many  books 
on  the  top  of  his  head  that  his  brains  cannot  move. " 
Yet  sometimes  he  can  express  himself  with  force,  and 
rises  to  a  really  lofty  and  philosophical  plane  of  thought. 

Thus,  for  instance,  in  his  Second  Book,  really  the 
Introduction  to  his  work,  he  says  :  "  It  is  a  proof  of 
human  weakness  to  try  to  imagine  the  form  and 
likeness  of  God.  Whoever  He  be,  wheresoever  He  be. 
He  is  all  feeling,  all  sight,  all  hearing,  the  fulness 
of  life,  of  Spirit,  of  Himself.  To  believe  in  gods 
without  number,  fashioned  even  of  the  vices  and 
virtues  of  men,  is  only  double  dulness.  Our  frail 
and  troublesome  mortality  has  made  all  these  parti- 
tions, remembering  its  own  infirmity,  that  each  might 
worship  piecemeal  as  his  need  required."  * 

Pliny  was,  in  fact,  something  of  a  Pantheist.  Perhaps 
this  habit  of  thought  disposed  him  to  accept  the  mar- 
vellous.   ''My   view    of  the  operations  of  nature  has 

*  I  have  borrowed  the  vigorous  rendering  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Simcox, 
History  of  Latin  Literature,  ii.  140. 


A    STUDENT.  203 

convinced  me,  *  he  says  in  one  place,  "  to  think  nothing 
that  is  told  concerning  her  incredible. "  It  may  have 
also  taught  him  something  of  his  low  opinion  of  man, 
"the  most  miserable,  but  the  most  arrogant  of 
creatures, "  as  he  calls  him. 

Perhaps  it  is  an  unlucky  fate  which  has  preserved 
as  an  example  of  Pliny's  work  just  that  which  the 
modern  world  has  most  outgrown.  Possibly  any  natural 
history,  however  carefully  put  together,  would  seem 
somewhat  grotesque  after  the  lapse  of  eighteen  cen- 
turies. We  can  value  the  author  quite  apart  from 
the  merits  or  demerits  of  his  book.  There  have  been 
many  men  of  greater  genius  in  literature  and  in 
science,  but  never  a  more  single-minded  and  inde- 
fatigable student. 


14 


XXIV. 
A  MAN  OF  BUSINESS. 


Vespasian. 

WE  might  say  that  Vespasian,  the*  tenth  of  the 
Caesars,  was  the  first  to  be  chosen  on  his 
merits.  The  great  Julius  seized  the  supreme  power 
by  sheer  force  of  commanding  ability  and  resolute 
will ;  the  five  princes  that  followed  owed  their  posi- 
tion in  the  first  place  to  their  connection  either 
by  blood  or  marriage  alliance  to  his  house.  Augustus 
was   a   not    unworthy    successor;   possibly  the  same 


A    MAN    OF    BUSINESS.  205 

may  be  said  of  Tiberius,  though  his  real  character 
is  one  of  the  most  doubtful  of  historical  questions. 
As  for  Caligula,  Claudius,  and  Nero,  no  one  would 
have  dreamt  of  committing  the  Imperial  power  to 
them,  had  it  not  been  for  the  fascination,  and,  it  is 
only  right  to  add  the  undoubted  utility  of  the  hered- 
itary principle.  Galba  owed  his  elevation  in  no 
small  degree  to  a  distinguished  descent,  which  made 
him  one  of  the  first  personages  of  the  Empire  outside 
the  Imperial  house;  Otho  and  Vitellius  to  the 
caprice  and  discontent  of  the  army.  Vespasian  had 
no  claims  but  what  he  had  created  for  himself.  His 
])irth,  on  the  father's  side,  was  undistinguished.  His 
grandfather,  T.  Flavins  Petro,  fought  at  Pharsalia 
on  the  vanquished  side,  and  obtaining  pardon  and 
liis  discharge,  found  employment  as  a  bank-clerk  in 
IJome;  his  father  was  a  collector  of  customs  and 
afterwards  a  money-lender  in  the  country  now 
called  Switzerland.  He  left  a  wife,  Vespasia  Polla 
by  name,  and  two  sons.  The  fate  of  the  elder  has 
already  been  related ;  *  the  younger  became  Em- 
peror. Polla  was  superior  to  her  husband  in  social 
position.  Her  father  was  a  soldier  and  rose  to  a 
rank  which  corresponded  approximately  to  that 
of  colonel  in  our  own  arm.y ;  her  brother  was  elected 
Praetor,  and  in  right  of  his  office  became  a  Senator. 

*  See  chapter  XXI. 


206  A    MAN   OF   BUSINESS. 

Suetonius  tells  us  that  many  monuments  of  the 
family  of  the  Vespasii  were  still  to  be  seen  in  his 
time  at  a  village  called  Vespasia  between  Nursia 
and  Spoletum  and  therefore  in  the  Sabine  country. 

The  younger  Flavins  was  born  on  Nov.  17th.  in 
the  year  9  A.D.  and  was  brought  up  by  his  father's 
mother.  So  kindly  were  his  after-recollections  of 
the  old  lady's  care  of  him  that  when  he  ascended 
the  throne  he  frequently  visited  the  place,  which 
he  was  careful  to  keep  absolutely  unchanged,  and 
that  on  high  days  he  used  to  drink  from  a  little 
silver  cup  which  she  had  been  accustomed  to  use. 
When  the  time  came  for  him  to  choose  his  profes- 
sion he  showed  a  strong  aversion  to  public  life,  an 
aversion  with  difficulty  overcome  by  his  mother's 
reproaches. 

His  first  real  distinctions  were  won  in  Britain. 
There  he  fought  thirty  battles,  and  added  various 
territories,  among  which  was  Yectis  (the  Isle  of 
Wight),  to  the  Roman  dominions.  The  honour  of 
the  consulship  followed,  and  this  again  was  succeed- 
ed by  the  appointment  to  the  Governorship  of 
Africa.  His  integrity  as  an  administrator  was 
proved,  it  was  thought,  by  the  fact  that  he  came 
back  a  poorer  man  than  he  went.  So  great  indeed 
was  his  straits  that  he  had  to  mortgage  all  his 
estates  to  his  elder  brother,  and  to  add  to  his  income 
by  dealing  in  slaves,  horses,  etc. 


A   MAN    OF   BUSINESS.  207 

Nero  took  him  in  his  train  on  the  Greek  tour* 
which  he  made  not  long  before  his  fall.  Vespasian 
got  into  great  disgrace  by  his  uncoiirtier-like  beha- 
viour. Whatever  the  Greeks  might  think  or  profess 
to  think  about  the  Emperor's  performance,  he  could 
not  help  showing  his  own  want  of  appreciation. 
Frequently  he  left  the  theatre  before  the  entertain- 
ment was  concluded;  sometimes  he  fell  asleep  while 
it  was  going  on.  The  offended  Prince  discharged 
him  from  further  attendance,  and  even  banished  him 
from  court.  Vespasian,  in  no  little  fear  of  his  life, 
retired  to  some  out  of  the  way  place.  Hither,  much 
to  his  astonishment,  he  was  followed  by  the  offer 
of  a  provincial  government  and  the  command  of  an 
army.  The  great  Jewish  rebellion,  which  was  not 
crushed  till  Jerusalem  had  fallen,  had  broken  out; 
and  Nero  put  aside  his  private  dislike  to  entrust 
the  care  of  the  war  to  the  ablest  soldier  that  he 
could  find. 

The  usual  prognostics  of  his  elevation  had  not 
been  wanting,  or  did  not  fail  to  be  forthcoming 
after  the  event.  We  have  a  curious  story  of  an 
oak,  growing  in  the  garden  of  Vespasian's  father, 
from  the  stem  of  which  three   boughs  suddenly  shot 

*  In  A.D.  66.  Nero  made  Avhat  we  may  call  a  professional 
tour  in  Greece.  His  object  was  to  exhibit  his  skill  in  music 
and  singing  to  a  nation  which 
excellent  judges  in  such  matters. 


208  A   MAN    OF   BUSINESS. 

forth  before  the  birth  of  his  three  children.  The 
first  was  very  small  and  soon  withered  away.  This 
indicated  the  birth  of  a  daughter.  The  second  was 
a  large  and  luxuriant  growth;  the  third  had  the 
proportions  of  a  tree.  The  father  consulted  a  sooth- 
sayer as  to  the  meaning  of  this  prodigy,  and  was 
so  elated  by  his  answer,  that  he  announced  to  his 
mother  that  her  youngest  grandson  would  some  day 
be  Emperor.  The  old  lady  only  laughed,  remarking 
that  it  was  very  strange  that  her  son  should  be  in 
his  dotage  while  she  was  still  in  full  possession  of 
her  faculties. 

Appearances  equally  significant  were^  it  is  said, 
observed  after  the  fall  of  Nero  and  during  the 
struggle  which  ended  in  Vespasian's  elevation.  A 
statue  of  the  Great  Julius  at  Rome  was  found  to 
have  turned  to  the  east  during  the  night;  before 
the  first  battle  of  Bedriacum,  when  the  armies  were 
just  about  to  engage  two  eagles  were  seen  to  fight; 
when  one  had  vanquished  the  other,  a  third  from 
the  east  came  and  conquered  the  victor.  Suetonius 
tells  us  that  Josephus,  whom  Vespasian  had  taken 
prisoner  at  Jotopata,  predicted  to  his  captor  the 
Imperial  dignity;  and  Josephus  himself  gives  a  full 
account  of  the  incident.  Modern  habits  of  thought 
incline  us  to  put  more  weight  on  the  expression 
which  Tacitus  uses  in  speaking  of  the  campaign  of 
Claudius    in   Britain,  "  Tribes  were  conquered,  kings 


A   MAN    OF    BUSINESS.  209 

made  prisoners,  and  destiny  learnt  to  know  its 
favorite,"  or,  it  may  be,  "destiny  made  its  favorite 
known  to  the  world."  It  is  certain  there  was  a  wide 
feeling  in  favor  of  Vespasian.  The  Empire  was 
offered  to  him  not  only  by  his  own  legions  but  by 
the  armies  of  Moesia. 

After  his  accession  he  justified  and  more  than 
justified  the  choice.  "  Alone  of  all  the  Emperors 
before  him  *  he  was  changed  for  the  better  by 
power."  He  did  the  work  of  Empire  thoroughly, 
and,  on  the  whole,  did  it  well.  He  was  conspicuous 
for  his  early  habits  even  among  a  nation  of  early 
risers.  He  began  business  before  it  was  light,  read 
the  despatches  which  had  arrived,  and  went  through  the 
summaries  of  affairs  which  his  secretaries  submitted 
to  him.  He  put  on  his  own  shoes  and  dressed  himself, 
receiving  morning  calls  while  he  was  so  occupied. 
This*  done  he  fulfilled  any  casual  engagements  until 
it  was  time  for  his  ride  or  walk  and  after  that  for 
his  siesta. 

It  was  in  the  matter  of  finance  that  he  chiefly 
showed  his  ability  as  a  ruler.  He  found  the  treasury 
empty,  as  indeed  was  to  be  expected  after  the 
extravagant  reign  of  Nero,  followed  by  a  year  of 
civil  war.  According  to  his  own  estimate  not  less 
a  sum  than  forty  million  pounds  sterling  was  wanted 

*  I  quote  exactly.  The  phrase  may  he  paralleled  by  Milton's 
"fairest  of  her  daiiy:hter'5.  Eve." 


210  A    MAN    OF   BUSINESS. 

to  restore  the  finances  of  the  Empire  to  a  sound 
condition — a  formidable  sum  without  doubt,  in  days 
to  which  the  gigantic  monetary  transactions  of  modern 
times  were  unknown.  *  This  state  of  things  he  set 
himself  to  remedy,  and  doubtless  incurred  process. 
Some  of  his  measures  were  obviously  right.  It  is 
specially  mentioned  that  he  revoked  the  remission  of 
taxes  made  by  Galba.  It  was  impossible  that  Galba, 
who  occupied  the  throne  only  for  a  few  troubled 
months,  could  have  taken  a  just  view  of  the  financial 
position  of  the  Empire.  And  some  of  the  stories  told 
about  Vespasian's  avarice  and  rapacity  were  doubtless 
false  or  exaggerated.  There  is  certainly  a  formidable 
catalogue  of  them.  "  He  openly  carried  on  operations 
of  which  even  a  subject  would  have  been  ashamed" 
says  Suetonius,  happily  ignorant  of  our  modern  system 
of  ^corners',  "buying  up  some  articles  only  that  he  might 
sell  them  again  at  a  higher  price.  "  He  did  not  hesitate 
to  sell  offices  to  candidates  and  verdicts  of  acquittal 
to  persons  accused,  whether  innocent  or  guilty.     He 

*  We  have  unfortunately  no  means  of  comparing  this  deficit 
with  the  amount  of  the  ordinary  revenue  of  the  state.  This 
latter  cannot  be  even  approximately  estimated.  The  only  definite 
statement  that  bears  upon  the  subject  is  Plutarch's  remark 
that  the  revenues  of  the  state  were  about  two  millions  annually 
before  Pompey  conquered  Mithridatcs.  If  we  make  a  guess  that 
this  amount  had  increased  fivefoUl,  we  should  have  the  result 
that  there  was  a  "floating  debt",  as  we  should  call  it,  (national 
debt  was  unknown)  of  four  jcars'  revenue. 


A   MAN    OF    BUSINESS.  211 

is  even  believed  to  have  deliberately  promoted  the 
most  unscrupulous  of  the  Imperial  agents  to  most 
important  posts,  only  that  he  might  find  them  more 
wealthy  when  he  brought  them  to  an  account.  "  They 
are  my  sponges, "  he  was  wont  to  say,  "  I  soak  them 
when  they  are  dry,  and  squeeze  them  out  when  they  are 
full."  Suetonius  goes  on  to  say  that  the  Emperor's 
greed  of  money  was  his  only  fault ;  but  he  adds  that, 
in  his  own  opinion,  the  harsh  measures  which  he 
adopted  were  a  matter  of  sheer  necessity.  The  machine 
of  government  could  not,  in  fact,  be  worked  without 
recourse  to  extraordinary  means  of  supplying  the 
deficit  in  the  revenue. 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  habit  of  exacting  grew 
upon  him,  and  that  he  persisted  in  his  oppressive 
finance  after  the  necessity  had  passed  away.  This 
is  strictly  in  accordance  with  our  experience  of  human 
nature,  and  would  reconcile  the  different  estimates 
of  the  Emperor's  character.  We  can  hardly  be  said 
to  possess  Tacitus'  opinion  on  the  subject,  unless  it 
be  that  when  he  is  describing  the  rebuilding  of 
Cremona  after  its  destruction  by  the  troops  of 
Antonius  Primus  he  means  a  sarcasm  by  the 
words  *  the  temples  and  squares  were  restored  by 
the  munificence  of  the  burghers,  and  Vespasiun  gave 
his  exhortations."  * 

*  "  Et    Vespasianus    hortabatur."     It    is    quite    possible    that 
nothing  of  the   kind  may  be  intended. 


212  A   MAN    OF   BUSINESS. 

That  he  had  to  deal  with  a  state  of  things  in 
which  it  was  taken  for  granted  that  the  treasury 
was  a  legitimate  object  for  plunder,  is  certain.  Some 
of  the  stories  of  his  way  of  paying  unscrupulous 
persons  in  their  own  coin  are  amusing. 

One  of  his  attendants  asked  that  a  stewardship 
might  be  given  to  his  brother.  The  Emperor  put 
him  off  for  the  time,  and  sent  for  the  candidate. 
"How  much  did  you  agree  to  give  to  So  and  So 
for  his  recommendation?"  The  man  named  the 
sum.  "  Pay  it  me,"  said  the  Emperor,  "  and  you  shall 
have  the  place."  The  original  petitioner  brought 
up  the  subject  again.  "  Ah ! "  said  the  Emporor, 
"  you  must  look  for  another  brother.  The  man  you 
recommended  was,  I  found,  not  your  brother  but 
mine."  His  coachman,  on  one  occasion,  stopped  the 
conveyance  to  get  the  mules  shod.  The  Emperor 
suspected  that  it  was  done  to  give  a  litigant,  who 
appeared  on  the  spot  with  suspicious  promptitude 
an  opportunity  of  urging  his  suit.  "What  did  you 
get  for  having  the  mules  shod?"  he  asked,  and 
insisted  on  receiving  half  the  bribe.  But  the  grim- 
mest joke  of  all  was  not  his  own.  It  was  made 
upon  him  amidst  the  strange  license  of  his  funeral. 
A  clown,  wearing,  according  to  the  curious  custom 
of  the  time,  a  mask  that  resembled  the  dead  man's 
features  and  imitating  his  ways  to  the  life,  asked 
the   Imperial  agents:     "How  much  will  this  funeral 


A    MAN    OF    BUSINESS.  213 

cost?  *  "  One  hundred  thousand  pounds ! "  they  replied. 
"  What ! "  cried  the  sham  Vespasian,  "  One  hundred 
thousand  pounds!  Give  me  a  thousand  and  you 
may  throw  me  into  the  Tiber!" 

That  he  was  certainly  not  wanting  in  liberality 
is  abundantly  proved  by  the  stories  related  of  him. 
He  made  up  the  incomes  of  impoverished  Senators 
who  had  passed  the  office  of  Consul  to  tlie  legal 
qualification.  *  To  towns  throughout  the  Empire 
that  suffered  from  earthquakes  or  conflagrations  he 
was   very   liberal,    often  rebuilding  them  with  great 

*  Augustus  fixed  the  property  qualification  of  a  Senator  at  a 
million  sefiterces.  This  taken  at  five  per  cent  (the  standard 
rate  of  interest  then  as  now),  would  give  an  income  of  i'500 
a  3'ear.  Suetonius,  however,  says  that  the  Emperor's  bounty 
to  these  ex-consuls  was  as  much  as  i.^5000  per  annum.  This 
seems  too  much,  while  if  we  take  sestertiis  to  mean  sestertii, 
not  sestertia,  the  sum  is  too  small  (there  is  an  embarrassing 
ambiguity  between  the  two  words  when  the  cases  happen  to 
have  the  same  termination  as  in  the  passage  referred  to).  A 
sestertium  or  thousand  sesterces  is  equivalent  to  i'lO,  while  a 
sestertius  to  something  near  2d.,  and  in  the  second  supposition 
we  should  have  £h  per  annum.  If  we  might  conjecture  quinquage- 
nis  instead  of  quingenis  everything  would  be  explained.  The 
annual  subvention  would  in  that  case  be  i500,  exactly  the 
income  that  would  accrue  from  the  qualifying  amount  of  capital. 
Vespasian  might  not  care  to  make  a  present  to  the  needy 
Senator  of  the  necessary  capital,  which  in  the  case  of  his  death 
would  go  to  his  heirs,  but  would  supply  him  as  long  as  he 
lived  with  the  necessary  income. 


214  A    MAN    OF    BUSINESS. 

magnificence.     Literature    and    the  arts  were  gener- 
ously treated  by  him. 

Various  poets  received  his  bounty.  Especially  we 
hear  of  his  giving  his  thousand  pounds  to  Saleius 
Bassus,  an  epic  poet  highly  praised  by  his  con- 
temporaries, of  whose  merits  we  have  no  means 
of  judging.  He  pensioned  with  the  handsome  sum 
of  ^1000  various  Greek  and  Latin  teachers  of 
declamation,  and  handsomely  rewarded  an  artist  who 
had  cleverly  restored  the  great  picture  of  Apel- 
les,  the  Venus  of  Cos,  and  another  who  repaired 
the  splendid  Colossus  of  Rhodes.  An  engineer  who 
undertook  to  carry  some  large  columns  to  the  Capitol  * 
was  handsomely  rewarded  for  his  ingenuity.  The 
Emperor,  however,  declined  to  make  use  of  his 
invention.  "  I  want  to  give  employment  to  my  poor 
people "  he  said.  A  tragic  actor  received  a  fee  of 
^^4000  from  him  and  two  great  singers  half  as 
much  each.  His  presents  to  such  performers  varied 
from  a  thousand  to  four  thousand  pounds,  with  the 
complimentary  addition  of  crowns  of  gold.  Not  being 
a  political  economist,  he  encouraged  trade  by  giving 
splendid  entertainments.  Gentlemen  who  were  his 
guests  always  had  presents  to  carry  home  at  the 
Saturnalia,  f  and  ladies  on  the  first  of  March. 

*  Doubtless  for  the  rebuilding  of  the  temples  destroyed  by 
the  conflagration  mentioned  in  chapter  XXII. 

t  The    Saturnalia    were    held  on  Dec.  17th. — 21st.     Probably 


A   MAN    OF   BUSINESS.  215 

On  the  whole  we  get  the  idea  of  a  vigorous  man 
with  some  petty  weaknesses,  possessed  with  a  strong 
sense  of  public  duty,  but  without  refinement  or 
elevation  of  character. 

If  we  are  to  look  about  for  a  parallel  in  modern 
times,  we  might,  perhaps,  find  it  in  President 
Lincoln.  One  thing  is  certainly  common  to  the 
two  men:  a  gift  of  rough  and  somewhat  boisterous 
humour. 

Such  was  his  jest  to  Titus,  his  son  and  suc- 
cessor when  the  latter  remonstrated  with  him  on 
his  making  a  gain  from  a  somewhat  unsavory  source. 
He  handed  Titus  a  coin  and  asked  him:  "Has  it  a 
bad  smell?"  ''No,"  said  Titus.  "Yet  it  comes  from 
there." 

When  his  last  illness  came  on,  he  remarked  with 
a  grim  allusion  to  the  lioinan  practice  of  deifying 
deceased  Emperors,  "  Dear  me !  I  fancy  that  I  am 
becoming  a  god."  *  Almost  at  the  last  moment  he 
bade  his  attendants  tu  help  him  up  from  his  chair. 
"An  Emperor  should  die  standing,"  he  said.  A 
moment    afterwards   he    breathed  his  last.     The  day 

our  own  Christmas  festivities  are,  in  a  sense,  a  continuation  of 
them.  The  first  of  March  was  the  festival  of  Juno,  as  the 
goddess  of  marriage. 

*  This  honour  was  not  conferred  indiscriminately.  It  was  given 
to  five  out  of  the  twelve  Caesars,  viz.,  Julius,  Augustus,  Claudius, 
Vespasian,  and  Titus.     The  title  was  "Divus." 


216  A   MAN    OF    BUSINESS. 

of  his  death  was  the  24th.  June,  A.  D.  79.     He  was 
in    his    sixty-ninth    year.  * 

*  This  would  make  the  total  duration  of  hia  roign  ten  years 
wanting  six  days,  as  he  was  first  proclaimed  Emperor  at 
Alexandria  on  July  1st.,  69.  It  may  be  worth  while  to  men- 
tion an  interesting  little  fact  connected  with  these  dates.  The 
recently  discovered  manuscript  of  Aristotle's  treatise  on  the 
Constitution  of  Athens  is  written  on  the  wrong  side  {verso)  oist. 
papyrus,  the  right  side  of  which  is  occupied  with  a  farm-bailifl"s 
accounts.  These  accounts  bear  the  date  of  the  "eleventh  year 
of  Vespasian."  The  apparent  contradiction  may  be  thus  accounted 
for.  Vespasian  was  proclaimed,  as  has  been  said,  on  July  1st., 
69.  From  that  day  to  his  birthday,  Nov.  17th.,  would  be 
reckoned  as  the  first  year  of  his  reign.  Then  would  follow 
nine  years  always  reckoned  from  birthday  to  birthday.  So 
calculated  the  tenth  year  of  his  reign  would  terminate  on  Nov. 
17th.,  78.  A.  D.  and  the  eleventh  year  would  be  running  when 
he  died  a  few  days  before  the  tenth  anniversary  of  kis  accession. 


XXV. 

A  SOLDTER  AND  SCHOLAR. 

*  T  DO  not  know,"  says  Pliny,  writing  to  his  intimate 
X  friend,  Calvisius,  "  that  I  have  ever  spent  a 
more  delightful  time  than  I  lately  enjoyed  when  I 
was  on  a  visit  to  Spurinna." 

The  date  of  the  letter  is  uncertain,  but  it  can 
hardly  be  later  than  the  first  year  of  the  second 
century  of  our  era.  Before  I  go  on  to  Pliny's 
charming  description  of  his  host,  I  may  say  what 
is  known  of  him. 

He  came  into  notice  in  that  dreadful  year  during 
which,  amidst  convulsions  that  shook  the  whole  of 
the  Western  world,  the  Imperial  throne  was  thrice 
handed  to  a  new  occupant.  Whether  he  was  in 
command  of  .a  legion,  a  rank  about  equivalent  to 
that  of  a  general  of  division,  or  an  officer  of  the 
Praetorians,  the  "  Guards "  of  the  Roman  army^  we 
cannot    say.     We   find  him  in  independent  command 


218  A   SOLDIER   AND    SCHOLAR. 

of  a  force  which  numbered  something  over  four 
thousand  men,  three  thousand  of  them  being  Praeto- 
rians. 

Some  ten  months  before  Servius  Galba,  Proconsul 
of  Southern  Spain,  helped  by  the  anxiety  and  hatred 
that  the  cruelties  and  follies  of  Nero  had  excited, 
had  seized  the  Imperial  power.  After  an  uneasy 
tenure  of  seven  months,  he  had  fallen  before  what 
may  be  called  a  reaction  in  favour  of  the  old  regime. 
Salvius  Otho,  a  discarded  courtier  of  Nero,  was  raised 
by  the  Praetorians  to  the  throne.  But,  as  Tacitus 
puts  it,  that  secret  of  Empire,  that  Emperors  could 
be  made  elsewhere  than  at  Rome,  had  been  divulged. 
The  seven  legions  that  guarded  the  frontier  of  the 
lihine  felt  that  they  had  a  better  title  to  do  what 
had  been  done  by  a  single  legion  in  Spain.  They 
saluted  their  general,  Vitellius,  by  the  Imperial  title, 
and  marched  upon  Italy.  Caecina,  with  Vitellius's,  first 
corps  (Tarmee  had  crossed  the  Alps.  The  broad  and 
rapid  stream  of  the  Po  was  the  second  barrier  of  the 
capital,  and  Spurinna  was  one  of  the  generals  sent 
to  guard  it.  Here  again  the  defenders  were  too  late, 
or  the  line  was  too  extended  for  their  forces.  A 
contingent  from  the  Island  of  the  Batavians  *  crossed 
the  river,  apparently  by  swimming,  an  art  in  which 
they  were  remarkably  skilful.    Spurinna  threw  himself 

*  A  region    roughly  equivalent  to  the  Netherlands. 


A    SOLDIER   AND    SCHOLAR.  219 

into  Placentia  (Piaconza),  a  colony  originally  planted 
to  keep  the  Gauls  in  check,  and  a  strongly  fortified 
place.  His  troops  were  dissatisfied  with  his  caution^ 
and  came  dangerously  near  to  a  mutiny.  They 
insisted  upon  marching  out  against  the  enemy,  and 
threatened  their  general's  life  when  he  refused  to 
give  the  order  to  march.  He  appeared  to  yield, 
accompanied  the  insubordinate  troops,  and  waited 
till  better  counsels  should  prevail.  Happily  he  had 
not  to  wait  long.  The  labour  of  constructing  a 
temporary  camp,  new  as  it  was  to  the  Praetorians,  * 
brought  the  men  to  their  senses,  and  they  were 
glad  enough  to  get  back  within  the  shelter  of  the 
walls. 

Spurinna  occupied  the  breathing  space  that  was 
given  him  in  strengthening  the  fortifications.  He 
needed  all  the  aid  that  they  could  afford  him,  for 
in  a  few  days  Caecina,  with  more  than  thirty  thousand 
men,  was  before  the  walls.  The  defence  was  brilliantly 
successful.  The  first  attack,  made,  it  would  seem, 
almost  immediately  after  the  arrival  of  the  army, 
and    without    any    preparation,    was  easily  repulsed. 

Csecina's  troops  fancied  that  they  could  take  the 
place  at  a  rush,  and  found  themselves  terribly  mis- 
taken. The  assault  was  renewed  the  next  day,  this 
time  with  the  help  of  such  siege  works  as  could  be 

*  They  occupied  a  permanent  camp  near  Rome,  and  had 
never  been    sent  on  foreign  service. 


220  A    SOLDIER    AND    SCHOLAR. 

got  ready  in  the  night.  The  fortifications,  too,  had 
been  reconnoitred,  and  the  weak  places  discovered. 
While  the  skirmishers  strove  to  clear  the  walls  by 
showers  of  arrows  and  stones,  the  heavy  armed  sol- 
diers, sheltered  by  mantlets  and  penthouses,  came 
up  close  and  endeavoured  to  undermine  them.  Others 
did  their  best  to  break  down  the  fortress.  Spurinna 
had  a  large  circuit  of  fortifications  to  defend  with 
an  insufficient  force,  but  he  was  equal  to  the  occasion. 
His  skilful  dispositions,  the  contagion  of  his  example, 
and  the  enthusiasm  of  confidence  which  he  inspired, 
saved  Placentia.  The  issue  of  the  war  was  not  affected, 
but  the  town  escaped  the  fate  which  a  few  months 
afterwards,  when  Vitellius  in  turn  had  to  defend  his 
throne  against  Vespasian,  overtook  its  neighbour 
Cremona. 

Spurinna  must  then  have  been  about  forty-six.  For 
more  than  twenty  years  he  disappears  from  history, 
but  we  know  that  he  must  have  been  consul  at  some 
time  during  that  period,  though  his  name  does  not 
appear  in  the  Fasti  *  In  A.D.  100  he  was  sent  to 
restore  the  dethroned  king  of  a  German  tribe,  the 
Bructeri.  The  history  of  the  affair  is  obscure;  but 
we  know  that  the  Bructeri  were  almost  destroyed 
by    two    neighbouring   tribes,   greatly  to  the  delight 

*  The  Fasti  Consular es,  or  List  of  the  Consuls  from  the 
expulsion  of  the  kings  (510  B.C.)  down  to  the  year  474  of  the 
Christian  era. 


The  old  man  returned  to  the  retirement  of  his  country-house. 


A   SOLDIER    AND    SCHOLAR.  221 

of  the  Romans.  "  Heaven  keep  alive  among  them," 
says  Tacitus,  "  not  so  much  the  love  of  us  as  the 
hatred  of  each  other!" 

The  shattered  remnant  seems  to  have  appealed 
to  the  protection  of  Rome.  Hence  this  interference 
with  their  domestic  affairs,  an  interference  to  "  which 
they  submitted  without  a  contest."  Pliny  makes 
the  most  of  Spurinna's  achievement.  "He  had  only 
to  show  his  strength:  the  mere  terror  of  his  arms 
vanquished  them;  and  this  is  the  finest  kind  of 
victory."  Possibly  Trajan,  who  was  now  Emperor, 
would  not  have  appointed  the  old  man — he  was 
now  seventy-six — to  command  the  expedition,  if  it 
had  been  likely  to  be  anything  more  than  what 
Professor   Mayor    calls    it,    "  a  military  promenade." 

It  was  treated,  however,  as  a  serious  victory.  Under 
the  Empire  no  one  but  the  Emperor  himself  was 
allowed  the  honour  of  a  formal  triumph.  All  the 
generals  were  his  lieutenants.  But  "  triumphal  dis- 
tinctions "  were  granted  to  successful  commanders. 
These,  a  statue  among  them,  were  voted  by  the 
Senate  to  Spurinna  on  his  return,  on  the  motion  of 
Trajan  himself.  The  honour  of  a  second  Consulship 
was  added,  with  the  Emperor  for  his  colleague.  At 
the  end  of  his  time  of  office — probably  lasting  but 
a  few  weeks,  for  again  it  is  not  recorded  in  the 
Fasti — the  old  man  returned  to  the  retirement  of  his 
country    house.    It    was    there    that   Pliny  paid  him 


222  A    SOLDIER   AND    SCHOLAR. 

the  visit  of  wliich  he  has  preserved  so  delightful  a 
record. 

"I  never  saw  an  old  man,"  he  goes  on,  "whom  I 
should  be  better  pleased  to  be  like,  if  only  I  am 
permitted  to  reach  old  age.  Nothing  can  be  more 
methodical  than  this  mode  of  life.  I  must  confess 
that  I  delight  in  an  orderly  arrangement  of  a  man's 
life,  especially  in  the  old,  just  as  I  delight  in  the 
orderly  movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  In  the 
young  a  little  confusion,  a  little  disorder,  is  not  unbe- 
coming; with  the  old,  everything  should  be  peace  and 
order;  the  time  of  business  is  over  for  them,  and 
they  have  nothing  to  do  with  ambition." 

After  this  prelude  comes  the  description  of  the  old 
soldier's  daily  routine.  He  began  his  day  betimes 
probably  at  six  o'clock,  and  gave  up  the  first  hours 
to  study,  "keeping  to  his  sofa,"  says  his  guest.  At 
eight  o'clock  he  called  for  his  shoes,  and  took  his 
first  walk,  keeping,  we  may  guess,  within  the  grounds 
of  his  villa,  for  if  he  had  not  a  friend  with  whom 
he  could  converse,  a  slave  or  freedman  would  read 
a  book. 

"So,"  says  his  guest,  "he  exercises  at  once  his 
body  and  his  mind."  The  walk  was  always  the 
same  length,  neither  more  nor  less  than  three  miles. 
The  walk  ended,  he  sat  down  awhile,  amusing  him- 
self with  more  reading  or  more  talk,  the  latter  by 
preference,  if  a  friend  was  at  hand.    The  next  thing 


A    SOLDIER   AND    SCHOLAR.  223 

in  the  programme  was  a  carriage  drive.  Sometimes 
his  wife  was  his  companion,  sometimes  a  guest.  It  was 
a  special  privilege  to  be  invited  to  share  the  drive,  for 
the  old  man  was  then  most  communicative. 

"  What  great  deeds,  what  mighty  men  you  hear 
about,"    says  Pliny. 

And  indeed  it  was  a  chequered  past  of  which  the 
veteran  had  to  tell !  Of  the  "  twelve  Caesars, "  he  had 
seen  nine,  might  even  have  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  tenth, 
for  he  must  have  been  twelve  years  old  when  Tiberius 
died.  He  had  survived  the  first  emperor  of  another 
series,  and  was  high  in  favour  with  the  second.  The 
carriage  drive  was  always  of  the  same  length — seven 
miles.  The  seven  completed^  he  alighted  from  his 
carriage^  and  walked  another  mile. 

Returning  home,  he  either  rested  or  wrote.  For 
Spurinna  was  a  poet,  composing  both  in  Latin  and 
Greek.  "His  odes  are  most  scholarly,"  his  guest 
tells  us.     Unhappily,  they  are  lost. 

An  ingenious  German  in  the  seventeenth  century 
(Caspar  Barth)  published  some  seventy  lines  which 
he  professed  to  have  found  in  an  old  manuscript 
in  the  library  at  Marburg.  Critics  are  commonly 
agreed  that  they  are  spurious,  bad  enough,  thinks 
Orelli,  to  be  the  work  of  Barth  himself ;  so  we  must 
be  content  with  Pliny's  praise  of  them  :  **  They  are 
marvellously  sweet,  and  tender,  and  easy,  and  the  charm 
is  enhanced  by  the  blameless  character  of  the  writer. " 


224  A    SOLDIER    AND    SCHOLAR. 

After  the  labours  of  composition  came  the  relaxation 
of  the  bath.  Here  it  is  curious  to-  observe  that 
the  exact  regularity  of  life  is  put  out  by  the  want 
of  clocks.  "  The  time  of  the  bath  is  the  ninth 
hour  in  winter,  the  eighth  in  summer."  The  Roman 
hour  was  a  variable  measure  of  time,  a  normal  hour 
only  at  the  equinoxes,  and  varying  from  seventy- 
five  minutes  at  mid-summer  to  forty-five  at  mid- 
winter. (The  day,  whatever  its  length,  was  divided 
into  twelve  hours). 

To  calculate  the  matter  nicely,  Spurinna  had  his 
bath  at  the  summer  solstice  at  1.15  p.m.,  at  the 
winter  at  1.29.  He  did  his  best;  it  will  be  seen, 
to  be  punctual,  but  circumstances  were  too  strong 
for  him.  The  first  bath  was  an  air-bath,  taken 
in  the  sunshine,  as  the  great  physician  Celsus  had 
recommended,  but  only  if  the  day  was  calm.  The 
air-bath  was  succeeded  by  a  game  which,  for  want 
of  a  better  term,  we  may  call  tennis.  Almost 
all  that  we  know  of  it  is  that  it  was  played  in  a 
closed  court.  Pliny  had  such  a  court  in  his  own 
villa.  "  He  plays  at  ball  for  a  long  time,  and  with 
much  energy:  by  the  help  of  this  kind  of  exercise 
he  fights  against  old  age."  After  the  game  followed 
the  regular  bath,  and  after  this  some  light  and 
entertaining  reading.  Then,  we  may  guess  about 
six  or  seven  o'clock,  came  dinner.  This  was  a  very 
late   hour  for  a  Roman,  and  it  is  curious  that  here. 


A    SOLDIER    AND    SCHOLAR.  225 

for  the  first  time,  we  have  any  mention  of  a  meal. 
"Dinner,"  says  Pliny,  "is  as  elegant  as  it  is  frugal. 
It  is  served  on  plate,  old  but  plain.  A  service  of 
Corinthian  bronze  is  sometimes  used.  Spurinna  has 
a  taste  for  these  things,  but  nothing  like  a  passion. " 

Dinner  was  frequently  enlivened  by  recitations,  and 
what  with  this  kind  of  entertainment,  and  the  host's 
pleasant  talk,  was  commonly  prolonged  till  somewhat 
late  into  the  night.  *But  no  guest  ever  finds  it 
tedious. "  "By  this  way  of  living  Spurinna  has 
preserved  his  senses  entire,  and  his  body  in  such 
vigour  and  activity  that,  though  he  has  reached  his 
seventy-eighth  year,  he  shows  no  sign  of  old  age 
except  wisdom." 

Like  most  of  the  Roman  nobles  of  the  time,  Spu- 
rinna was  childless.  We  hear  of  a  son,  whom  he  lost 
during  his  absence  in  Germany,  and  to  whom  a  tri- 
umphal statue  was  erected,  an  unusual  honour  for  a 
young  man,  and  granted,  it  would  seem,  partly  out 
of  compliment  to  the  father.  But  probably  this  was 
a  step-son,  whom  he  had  adopted.  The  young  man  is 
spoken  of  as  Cottius,  and  Spurinna's  wife  was  a  Cottia. 

So  far  as  it  goes,  the  portrait  that  Pliny  has  drawn 
for  us  is  one  that  we  can  admire.  If  it  were  a  pict- 
ure of  a  Christian  old  age,  we  should  want  something 
more — piety,  benevolence,  philanthropy.  But  Roman 
religion  was  ceremonial,  which  had  little  earnestness 
in  it  except  so  far  as  it  promised  to  bo  the  means  of 


226  A    SOLDIER    AND    SCHOLAR. 

averting  some  threatened  evil.  The  care  for  others 
as  an  habitual  temper  of  the  mind  was  being  slowly- 
taught  to  the  world  by  a  religion  of  which  Spurinna, 
it  is  probable,  had  never  heard.  Yet  we  may  look 
with  true  pleasure  on  this  old  man,  cultured,  brave, 
loyal,  temperate,  enjoying  the  repose  well  earned  by 
a  life  of  duty,  and  may  believe  that  he  too  was  not 
wholly  outside  the  grace  of  the  Heavenly  Father 
whom  he  did  not  know. 


A^ 


XXVI. 

THE  STORY  OF  EPFONINA. 

VESPASIAN,  as  has  been  said,  was  proclaimed 
Emperor  by  the  Jegions  of  the  East  on  July 
1st.  69,  A.  D.  A  little  more  than  fourteen  months 
afterwards,  (Sept.  8th.  70)  Jerusalem  was  taken,  and 
the  peace  of  the  East  was  assured  for  some  years 
to  come.  Meanwhile  Home  had  triumphed  over  a 
more  formidable  enemy  in  the  west,  for  the  disaffec- 
tion of  the  Jews,  however  troublesome  it  might  have 
been,  could  never  have  endangered  the  stability  of 
the  Empire.  It  was  otherwise  with  the  movement 
commonly  called  the  revolt  of  Civilis.  At  one  time 
it  seemed  as  if  this  might  end  in  the  establishment 
of  a  Northern  Empire. 

The  march  of  Vitellius  on  Italy  drained  the  camps 
on  the  Rhine  frontier  of  their  best  troops.  The 
forces  of  Upper  and  Lower  Germany  consisted  of 
seven  legions.  All  of  these  contributed  to  miake  up 
the    armies   which  Vitellius  and  his  two  lieu^ants, 


228  THE    STORY    OF   EPPONINA. 

CaBcina  and  Valens,  led  across  the  Alps.  Tacitus 
tells  us  that  Caecina  had  thirty  thousand  and  Valens 
forty  thousand  troops,  and  that  Vitellius  himself  had 
a  still  larger  force  under  his  command.  The  three 
legions  from  Britain  furnished,  we  know,  consider- 
able contingents,  and  doubtless  various  local  forces 
swelled  the  numbers  of  this  vast  host.  But  it  is 
clear  and  indeed  we  are  expressly  told,  that  the 
frontier  garrisons  were  brought  to  a  condition  of 
the  utmost  weakness,  and  that  they  were  hastily 
supplemented  by  levies  made  on  the  spot. 

Of  this  fact  Civilis,  a  chieftain  of  the  Batavi,  who 
inhabited  the  region  now  known  as  Holland,  was  not 
slow  to  avail  himself.  He  had  private  reasons  for 
hating  Rome.  His  brother  had  been  put  to  death 
on  a  charge  of  treason,  and  he  had  been  himself  in 
imminent  peril  of  his  life.  And  his  ambition  was 
stirred  by  what  seemed  to  him  a  great  opportunity 
of  establishing  a  kingdom  that  should  be  independent 
of  Home.  The  Batavi  were  a  warlike  tribe  who 
were  indeed  nominally  subject  to  Rome,  but  whose 
dependence  did  not  go  beyond  the  liability  to  supply 
a  military  contingent  to  the  Imperial  armies.  Their 
adherence  he  secured,  for  his  personal  prestige  was 
great,  while  his  family  was  the  most  distinguished 
in  the  whole  nation.  He  found  allies  in  those 
German  tribes  which  were  nearest  the  Roman 
frontier,    tribes    which   had    been  attacked  by  Rome 


THE   STORY    OF   EPPONINA.  229 

more  than  once,  and  which  were  always  afraid  of 
losing  their  independence.  And  he  looked  also  to 
Gaul  for  help.  Much  of  this  country  was  indeed 
by  this  time  thoroughly  Romanized,  but  there  were 
tribes,  especially  in  the  North  and  East,  which  still 
cherished  the  traditions  of  independence.  To  these 
Civilis  appealed.  He  flattered  their  national  vanity 
by  talking  of  a  Gallic  Empire,  which  was  to  be 
built  on  the  ruins  of  the  Roman  power,  though  he 
was  perfectly  well  aware  that  any  new  Empire, 
should  any  such  be  established,  would  be  not  Gallic 
but  Batavian  or  German.  And  he  met  with  some 
success.  The  Lingones  inhabiting  the  northern  part 
of  the  range  of  the  Vosges,  and  the  Treveri,  a  half 
German  tribe,  who  occupied  the  valleys  of  the  Mosel 
and  the  Saar,  joined  him  almost  eM  masse,  and  he 
found  adherents  among  other  tribes  of  the  North-east. 
It  is  not  my  purpose  to  tell  the  story  of  this 
struggle,  but  only  to  give  the  narrative  of  one 
pathetic  episode  in  it.  The  Lingon  chief  that  took 
the  chief  part  in  bringing  his  tribe  over  to  the  side 
of  Civilis  was  a  certain  Julius  Sabinus.  He  prided 
himself  upon  his  descent  from  the  great  Julius.  One 
would  have  thought  it  in  any  case  a  strange  subject 
for  pride,  for  he  did  not  assert  that  it  was  legitimate, 
while  it  seems  the  very  weakest  of  claims  to  be  set 
up  by  a  pretender  to  a  national  empire  of  Gaul. 
We  may     presume  he  made  the  boast  in  days  when 


230  THE    STORY    OF    EPPONINA. 

the  idea  of  indopondence  had  not  yet  presented  itself, 
and  that  he  sought  to  utilize  it  as  a  distinction 
appealing  in  some  sort  to  the  popuhir  imagination 
when  the  schcmie  of  a  Gallic  Empire  had  taken 
shape. 

It  was  donht.h^ss  to  the  general  advantage  of  the 
country,  tfiat  the  man's  rashness  and  incompetency 
brought  this  s(;heme,  which,  indeed,  could  never  have 
been  successfully  carried  out,  to  a  speedy  end.  Early 
in  70  A.  D.,  anxious,  it  would  seem  to  anticipate  all 
other  possible  claimants  to  the  new  throne,  he  called 
his  tribe  to  arms.  His  first  care  was  to  destroy  all 
the  public  records  of  the  alliance  between  the  state 
of  the  Lingones  and  Rome.  The  pillars  and  obelisks 
on  which  thtjse  were  inscribed  were  thrown  to  the 
ground.  Having  thus  proclaimed  the  independence 
of  the  Jjingones,  he  directed  his  followers  to  salute 
him  as  EinfXJior.  He  seems  to  have  been  of  a  weak 
and  foolish  nature,  and  his  movement  was,  as  will 
be  seen,  almost  immediately  crushed.  Still  his  name 
may  be  remembered  as  the  first  of  many  pretenders 
who  claimed  an  Empire  independent  of  Rome. 

Sabinus'  first  and  last  effort  to  assert  his  power  was 
directed  against  his  neighbours  the  Sequani,  a  Keltic 
people  who  occupied  the  country  between  the  Jura  range 
and  the  Saone.  This  tribe  he  attacked  with  a  hastily 
levied  force  of  his  tribesmen.  The  fortune  of  the  day  went 
against  him,  and  he  fled  from  the  field  of  battle  Avith 


THE    STORY    OF   EPPONINA.  231 

a  cowardice  equal  to  the  rashness  with  which  he  had 
ventured  on  it.  And  now  begins  the  romance  connected 
with  his  name.  "  Wishing  to  spread  a  report  that 
he  had  perished,"  writes  Tacitus,  "he  burnt  the 
country-house  in  which  he  had  taken  refuge,  and  was 
then  supposed  to  have  put  an  end  to  his  own  life. 
I  shall  relate  at  the  proper  opportunity,"  he  goes  on 
to  say,  "  by  what  contrivances  and  in  what  hiding 
places  he  prolonged  his  life  for  the  nine  following 
years,  and  describe  at  the  same  time  the  fidelity 
of  his  friends  and  the  conspicuous  courage  of  his 
wife  Epponina. "  Unhappily  this  part  of  the  historian's 
narrative  has  been  lost.  Plutarch,  however,  tells  the 
story,  which  he  heard,  it  would  seem,  from  the  lips 
of  one  of  Sabinus'  sons. 

Sabinus,  thanks,  it  may  be,  to  his  precipitate  flight 
from  the  field  of  battle,  might,  it  seems,  have  easily 
made  his  escape  to  some  place  which  then  was^  at 
least,  beyond  the  reach  of  the  Roman  arms.  But  he 
found  it  impossible  to  take  with  him  his  wife,  to  whom 
he  was  tenderly  attached,  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
he  could  not  make  up  his  mind  to  leave  her.  The 
plan  that  occurred  to  him  was  to  disappear  so  com- 
pletely as  to  make  everyone  believe  that  he  wa& 
dead,  and  then,  waiting  awhile  till  the  affair  had  more 
or  less  been  forgotten,  to  escape  with  his  wife. 
For  the  present  she  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the  world 
was    to    be    deceived.     He    made  his  way  to  one  of 


232  THE    STOEY    OF   EPPONINA. 

his  country-houses,  and  dismissed  the  slaves  that 
belonged  to  the  establishment,  after  telling  them  that 
he  meant  to  commit  suicide.  This  done,  he  set  fire 
to  the  house.  What  he  really  did  was  to  retire  to 
some  subterranean  storehouses,  the  secret  of  which 
was  known  to  none  but  himself  and  two  freedmen. 
One  of  these  freedmen  he  sent  to  his  wife  charged 
with  a  message  of  farewell.  The  man  was  to  tell  her  that 
her  husband  had  taken  poison.  Her  grief  he  calculated 
would  give  additional  credit  to  the  tale  of  his  death. 

The  plan  threatened  to  succeed  only  too  well. 
Epponina,  on  hearing  these  dismal  tidings,  abandoned 
herself  to  grief.  Throwing  herself  on  the  ground, 
she  remained  for  three  days  and  nights  without  taking 
any  food.  Sabinus,  informed  of  what  was  going  on, 
became  fearful  for  her  life,  and,  as  a  last  resource, 
sent  the  freedman  again  with  a  message  that  he  was 
not  really  dead  but  in  hiding.  At  the  same  time  he 
begged  her  to  continue  her  mourning.  Epponina, 
accordingly,  continued  to  act  the  part  of  the  disconsolate 
widow,  while  she  found  opportunities  of  visiting  her 
husband,  unknown  to  all  but  the  two  faithful  freedmen. 

After  the  expiration  of  seven  months,  when  Vespa- 
sian was  firmly  seated  on  the  throne,  she  conceived 
the  bold  design  of  taking  her  husband  to  Rome  and 
petitioning  for  his  pardon.  Her  friends  encouraged 
her  to  hope  that  this  might  be  obtained.  She  made 
him  assume  a  disguise,  probably  that  of  a  slave,  and 


THE    STORY    OF   EPPONINA.  233 

contrived  that  he  should  escape  recognition.  The 
journey  however  proved  to  be  fruitless.  The  Emperor 
could  not  be  approached.  Epponina  and  Sabinus 
returned  to  their  place  of  concealment.  He  of  course 
never  emerged  from  it;  but  she  lived  a  double  life, 
spending  part  of  her  time  with  her  husband,  and  part 
in    society,    paying    even    occasional  visits  to  Rome. 

For  several  years  this  went  on,  the  secret  never 
being  discovered,  even  though  twice  during  this 
period  Epponina  became  a  mother.  Just  before  the 
end  of  Vespasian's  reign  husband  and  wife  were 
arrested — we  are  not  told  how  this  happened — and 
were  brought  into  the  Imperial  presence.  She  made 
an  appeal  for  mercy  which  brought  tears  to  the 
eyes  of  all  who  were  present,  even  affecting  the 
Emperor  himself,  "See,"  she  cried  pointing  to  her 
two  children,  "these  boys,  I  brought  them  forth, 
reared  them  in  the  tomb,  that  there  might  be  more 
of  us  to  beg  for  your  mercy. " 

But  Vespasian,  though,  as  has  been  said,  not 
unmoved,  refused  to  pardon  her  husband.  Then, 
it  seems,  the  infuriated  woman  broke  forth  into 
invectives.  "Better,"  she  said,  "to  live  in  dark- 
ness, than  to  see  such  a  Prince  on  the  throne." 
It  is  melancholy  to  read  that  she  shared  the  fate 
of  her  husband.  Both  were  put  to  death  by  the 
Emperor's  order.  His  temper  had  been  soured,  it 
would  seem,    by  the  discovery  of  plots   on  the  part 


234  THE    STOKY    OF    EPPONINA. 

of  trusted  and  favoured  friends.  Possibly,  he  could 
not  forget  that  Sabinus  had  assumed  the  Imperial 
title,  and  had  claimed  descent  from  the  first  of  the 
Caesars.  The  meanness  of  Vespasian's  own  origin 
may  have  made  him  sensitive  on  this  point.  It  is 
difficult,  however,  to  reconcile  what  we  know  of 
the  character  of  Vespasian  with  the  execution  of 
Epponina. 

Plutarch,  or  rather  the  character  in  the  dialogue 
"About  Lovers"  who  tells  the  story,  adds,  "Caesar 
slew  her,  and  paid  the  penalty  for  the  bloody  deed, 
for  before  long  his  whole  race  utterly  perished.  In 
the  whole  of  his  reign  no  darker  deed  than  this,  none 
more  odious  in  the  sight  of  heaven,  was  committed." 


XXYH. 

TUB  DARLING  OF  MANTaND. 


Titus. 

THE  early  death  of  Titus,  the  elder  son  of  Ves- 
pasian, was  taken  as  another  proof  of  the  truth 
of  the  gloomy  saying  already  quoted,  that  "  the 
darlings  of  the  Roman  People  were  short  lived  and 
unlucky."  He  reigned  two  years  two  months  and 
twenty  days,  and  during  that  time  neither  said  nor 
did  anything  that  could  be  blamed.     Of  course  there 

were    sceptical    observers    who    remarked   that  such 
IG 


236  THE   DARLING    OF   MANKIND. 

virtue  could  not  have  stood  the  test  of  time  and  of 
a  prolonged  reign.  "Augustus,"  they  said,  "would 
not  have  been  beloved  if  he  had  not  lived  to  old 
age,  nor  Titus  if  he  had  not  died  in  his  prime." 

Of  Augustus,  doubtless,  this  was  true.  It  was  only 
when  he  was  firmly  seated  on  his  throne  that  he 
felt  himself  able  to  be  merciful  and  forbearing;  the 
passions  too,  of  his  youth  and  manhood  were  moderated 
by  advancing  years,  and  he  died  at  seventy-seven 
with  a  reputation  for  wisdom,  moderation  and  clem- 
ency which  at  fifty  ho  had  certainly  not  earned. 
What  Titus  might  have  become  it  is  impossible  to 
say;  and  power,  we  know  only  too  well,  has  a 
corrupting  influence.  Still  he  was  of  mature  ago 
when  he  came  to  the  throne,  and  he  certainly  found 
in  the  poss(^ssion  of  power  exactly  the  reverse  of 
what  others  have  found  in  it,  a  reason  for  discon- 
tinuing, not  for  increasing,  the  indulgences  which  as 
a  subject  he  had  allowed  himself.  On  the  whole,  we 
may  be  allowed  to  believe  that  if  a  longer  life  had 
been  allowed  him,  he  would  not  have  been  false  to 
his  better  reputation. 

The  young  Titus  was  educated  along  with  Britan- 
nicus,  the  unhappy  youth  whom  Agrippina  robbed 
of  his  succession  to  the  throne,  and  Nero  of  his 
life.  One  of  the  soothsayers  who  professed  to  read 
the  fortune  of  a  child  by  inspecting  his  forehead 
was  brought  to  see  the  young  Prince  by  one  of  his 


THE  DARLING  OF  MANKIND.  237 

father's  freedmen,  and  declared  that  he  never  would 
be  Emperor,  "  but  this  lad "  he  went  on,  pointing  at 
Titus,  "certainly  will  be."  He  had,  however,  a 
narrow  escape  from  perishing  along  with  his  compa- 
nion, for  he  drank  of  the  same  poisoned  cup,  and 
had  a  severe  illness  in  consequence.  When  the 
prophecy  was  fulfilled,  Titus  did  not  forget  the  friend 
of  his  boyhood,  but  set  up  a  gilded  statue  of  him  in 
the  hall  of  the  Imperial  palace. 

As  a  lad  the  future  Emperor  showed  singular 
promise.  His  memory  was  remarkably  retentive. 
He  was  an  excellent  speaker  and  a  skilful  verse 
writer,  and  as  much  at  home  in  Greek  as  in  his 
native  tongue.  So  great  was  his  facility  in  composi- 
tion that  it  amounted  to  a  gift  of  extemporising. 
He  was  a  skilful  singer  and  musician,  so  rapid  a 
writer  that  he  could  vanquish  his  own  amanuenses, 
and  so  clever  in  imitating  handwritings  that  he 
should  have  made,  he  was  wont  to  say,  the  best  of 
forgers.  In  all  martial  exercises  he  was  remarkably 
proficient.     Though   not  tall  he  was  very  handsome. 

He  began  life  as  usual  as  a  soldier,  serving  in 
Germany  and  Britain.  He  seems  to  have  been  pop- 
ular, but  his  military  reputation  was  won  in  the 
East.  Vespasian  was  busy  with  the  Jewish  war, 
when  he  was  called  to  the  throne,  and  he  left  Titus 
behind  to  bring  it  to  a  close.  The  young  man — he' 
was  barely  thirty— conducted  the  siege  of  Jerusalem 


238  THE  DARLING  OF  MANKIND. 

with  the  greatest  skill,  while  shewing  at  the  same 
time  the  greatest  personal  courage.  So  popular  was 
he  with  the  troops  that  when  he  was  leaving  the 
province  for  Italy  the  legions  besought  him,  even 
adding  threats  to  their  entreaties,  that  he  would 
either  stay  or  take  them  with  him.  There  were  not 
wanting,  of  course,  foolish  or  malignant  reports  that 
he  intended  to  trade  on  this  popularity  and  to  revolt 
from  his  father.  That  he  had  been  seen  to  put 
a  crown  on  his  head  when  he  was  consecrating 
the  bull  Apis  at  Memphis — a  curious  instance,  by 
the  way,  of  Roman  toleration — was  supposed  to 
give  confirmation  to  the  slander.  Titus  felt  the 
imputation  acutely.  lie  took  the  quickest  passage 
to  Italy  that  he  could,  hurried  to  Rome,  and  burst 
in  unexpectedly  upon  his  father  with  the  exclamation : 
**  I  have  come,  father,  I  have  come ! " 

From  that  time  to  his  father's  death  he  was  asso- 
ciated in  all  the  cares  of  Empire.  More  than  once  he  felt 
himself  compelled  to  act  with  an  energy  that  seenjed  to 
savour  of  a  tyrannical  temper.  The  most  conspicuous 
instance  was  that  of  an  ex-consul,  Aulus  CsBcina.  Caecina 
had  been  one  of  the  trusted  lieutenants  of  Vitellius, 
and  had  betrayed  his  master.  He  now  meditated 
a  new  treason.  Titus  invited  him  to  supper,  and 
caused  him  to  be  struck  down  as  he  was  leaving  the 
dining-room;  but  then  he  had  come  into  possession 
of  a    copy    of  the  speech  which  Caecina  intended  to 


THE  DAKLING  OF  MANKIND.  239 

address  to  the  troops.  In  his  private  life  too  Titus 
had  incurred  no  little  censure.  The  Roman  public 
was  not  by  any  means  strict  in  its  moral  judgements ; 
but  there  were  some  things  which  it  condemned,  not 
so  much  because  they  were  criminal,  as  because 
they  were  unpatriotic.  Such  was  the  young  Prince's 
passion  for  the  Jew^ish  Queen  Berenice.  She  might 
well,  it  was  thought,  be  another  Cleopatra,  and  her 
presence  in  Rome  was  regarded  with  the  most  un- 
favorable eyes.  Some  of  these  adverse  critics  went 
so  far  as  to  say  that  the  death  of  Vespasian  would 
put  another  Nero  on  the  throne. 

When  the  dreaded  change  came  to  pass  all  these 
sinister  predictions  were  found  to  be  false.  Berenice 
was  sent  away  from  Rome,  though  the  Emperor  did 
not  conceal  his  grief  at  parting  from  her.  All 
unworthy  favorites  were  dismissed.  Luxury  was 
discountenanced.  The  Imperial  entertainments  were 
pleasant  but  were  not  profuse.  The  justice  of  the 
new  Emperor's  rule  was  conspicuous.  No  kind  of 
extortion  was  practised  or  allowed.  Even  customary 
demands  were  not  made.  At  the  same  time  there 
was  a  liberal  expenditure,  especially  in  the  matter 
so  dear  to  the  Roman  heart,  the  public  shows,  and 
in  what  was  scarcely  less  important,  the  public 
baths.  At  the  opening  of  a  new  amphitheatre  there 
was  an  exhibition  on  the  most  munificent  scale.  This 
was    followed   by    a    sham    sea-fight,  and  a  show  in 


240  THE   DAKLING    Or   MANKIND. 

which  no  less  than  five  thousand  wild  beasts  were 
exhibited. 

Personally  Titus  was  generous  even  to  a  fault.  No 
petitioner  went  away  dissatisfied.  When  his  minis- 
ters reminded  him  that  he  was  promising  more  than 
lay  within  his  ability,  or,  it  may  be,  his  duty  to 
perform,  he  answered  that  no  one  ought  to  leave 
the  presence  of  an  Emperor  disappointed.  "  I  have 
lost  a  day "  was  his  exclamation  when  at  night  he 
could  not  recall  any  act  of  kindness  that  he  had 
done. 

The  informers  who  had  been  the  curse  of  Rome 
under  his  predecessors  met  with  no  favour  from 
him.  He  had  them  publicly  flogged,  and  then  either 
sold  them  into  slavery,  or  banished  them  to  the 
most  barren  islands  of  the  iEgean.  Capital  punish- 
ment he  never  inflicted.  When  he  assumed  the 
dignity  of  Chief  Pontiff— always  held  by  the  Em- 
perors— he  said :  "  I  take  this  office  that  I  may  keep 
my  hands  from  blood."  From  that  day  he  never 
put  anyone  to  death,  or  acquiesced  in  others  doing 
it.  Sometimes  his  own  safety  seemed  to  require  it, 
but  on  this  point  his  resolve  was  inflexible.  *  I 
would  sooner  die  than  kill,"  he  said.  Two  Roman 
nobles  conspired  against  him ;  he  did  nothing  but 
bid  them  desist.  "  It  is  only  the  Fates  that  can 
give  the  Empire, "  he  said  to  them ;  "  ask  me  for 
anything    else   and  you  shall  have  it."     The  mother 


THE   DARLING    OF    MANKIND.  241 

of  one  of  the  conspirators  was  living  far  from  Rome. 
She  knew  that  her  son  was  in  danger.  The  Emperor 
sent  his  own  courier  to  assure  her  of  his  safety. 
He  invited  both  to  dine  at  his  own  table,  and  at  a 
show  of  gladiators,  exhibited  the  next  day,  handed 
to  them  for  their  inspection  the  weapons  of  the 
combatants,  which  had  according  to  custom  been  pre- 
sented to  him. 

His  worst  enemy  was  his  brother,  yet  he  never 
wavered  in  his  affection  for  him,  or  went  beyond 
the  entreaty  that  he  would  return  the  love  which 
he  himself  felt. 

His  short  reign  was  marked  by  two  fearful  dis- 
asters; the  destruction  of  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii, 
and  a  fire  which  consumed  a  large  portion  of  Rome. 
He  employed  all  his  resources  in  repairing  the  losses 
of  those  who  suffered  by  these  calamities. 

The  cause  of  his  death  is  involved  in  mystery. 
Domitian  was  commonly  accused  of  having  at  least 
hastened  it.  There  is  nothing  in  his  character  that 
would  make  us  disbelieve  in  the  charge;  but  in 
default  of  absolute  proof  he  may  be  allowed  the 
benefit  of  the  doubt.  Equally  mysterious  was  the 
dying  Emperor's  utterance :  "  I  have  not  deserved 
to  die  so  young;  I  have  only  one  thing  to  repent 
of."  What  this  one  thing  was  is  not  known.  Some 
said  that  it  was  that  he  had  not  anticipated  the 
malignant    design    of  his    brother,    a  solution  which 


242  THE  DARLING  OF  MANKIND. 

in  view  of  Titus'  benificent  temper  one  is  unwilling 
to  accept.  One  thing  is  certain.  There  have  been 
few  rulers  indeed,  about  whom  such  a  question  could 
not  be  easily  answered,  even  if  it  could  be  asked 
at  all.  Well  might  the  historian  of  the  Caesar  write, 
"  He  was  cut  off  by  death,  not  so  much  to  his  own 
loss  as  to  the  loss  of  mankind." 


xxvm. 

A  GREAT  C APT  Am, 


LumitiuD. 

IT  is  not  improbable  that  the  family  of  Cnaeus  Julius 
Agricola  was  one  of  the  many  which,  in  both 
Cisalpine  and  Transalpine  Gaul,  assumed  the  name 
of  the  Great  Dictator.*  Cnoeus,  whom  I  shall  henceforth 
speak  of  by  his  surname  of  Agricola,  was  born  A.D.  37 

*  It  is  notable  that  three  of  the  leaders  in  the  great  rebellion 
of  Civilis,  a  movement  which  included  a  considerable  part  of 
Gaul,  bore  the  family  name  of  Julius. 


244  A   GREAT    CAPTAIN. 

at  Forum  Julii,  now  Frejus  in  Provence.  The  oc- 
cupation followed  by  his  family  was  what,  for  want 
of  a  precise  Roman  equivalent,  I  shall  call  la  haute 
finance.  The  capitalists  of  the  Empire  were  mostly 
found  among  the  order  of  Knights.  Their  most 
important,  and  probably  most  profitable,  function  ^vas 
the  farming  of  the  public  revenues;  and  it  was  a 
special  distinction  among  them  to  have  the  charge 
of  that  part  of  the  taxes,  customs,  etc.,  which  came 
into  the  Emperor's  private  treasury.  *  This  distinction 
was  enjoyed  by  both  Agricola's  grandfathers.  His 
father,  a  man  of  the  highest  character  and,  it  would 
seem,  of  some  culture^  f  raised  the  family  rank, 
becoming  a  member  of  the  Senate.  The  promotion 
was  unfortunate,  for  it  brought  him  under  the  notice 
of  the  Emperor  Caligula.  The  tyrant  ordered  him  to 
conduct  the  prosecution  of  Marcus  Silanus.  He  refused, 
and  was  put  to  death.  We  do  not  know  the  precise 
year;  probably  it  was  about  40  A.D. 

The  young  Agricola,  thus  left  fatherless  almost  in 
infancy,  was  brought  up  by  his  mother  at  Marseilles, 
a  place  where,  says  his  biographer,  Greek  elegance 
and  the  frugal  habits  of  provincial  life  were  happily 

*  There  were  two  treasuries — the  aerarium,  into  which  funds 
belonging  to  the  State  were  paid,  and  the  ^scus  or  private 
purse  of  the  Emperor.  We  have  hints  that  the  Emperor  really 
controlled  both. 

t  The  elder  Pliny  praises  his  book  on  vineyards. 


A  gi;eat  captain.  245 

combined — something,  one  may  venture  to  say,  like 
St.  Andrews  here,  only  with  the  commercial  element 
more  prominent.  He  was  an  ardent  student;  so  ardent, 
indeed,  that  he  had  thoughts  of  renouncing  the  public 
career  which  was  open  to  him  in  favour  of  the  life 
of  a  philosopher.  Such  appears,  indeed,  to  be  the 
meaning  of  his  own  confession,  made  in  after  years 
to  his  son-in-law  and  biographer,  that  in  his  early 
youth,  but  for  the  moderating  influence  of  his  mother, 
he  should  have  pursued  philosophical  studies  with 
more  energy  than  befitted  a  Senator  and  a  Roman — 
an  expression  curiously  characteristic  of  the  practical 
Koman  temper. 

He  began  life,  as  it  was  the  almost  universal  practice 
to  begin  it,  as  a  soldier,  serving  in  A.D.  60  as  alde-de- 
camp  to  Suetonius  Paulinus,  who  was  then  in  com- 
mand in  Britain.  Never  was  there  a  better  time  for 
a  young  man  to  learn  his  duties  and  show  his  mettle. 
The  Roman  dominion  in  the  land  was  passing  through 
the  worst  crisis  that  it  ever  endured.  While  Paulinus 
was  attacking  the  stronghold  of  Mona  (Anglesey), 
the  head-quarters  of  the  Druid  superstition,  the  British 
tribes  of  the  east  coast  were  in  rebellion.  The  colony 
of  Camalodunum  (Colchester)  was  destroyed.  Paulinus 
hurried  back,  but  was  not  in  time  to  save  London, 
even  then  a  populous  and  flourishing  town.  The 
revolt  was  suppressed,  but  not  before  the  young 
Agricola    had    had    some    exciting    and    instructive 


24:6  A   GREAT    CAPTAIN. 

experiences.  Those  seem  finally  to  have  determined 
him  in  favour  of  a  military  career.  Before  he  could 
enter  on  this,  a  routine  of  civil  office  was  necessary. 
His  first  promotion  was  a  Quaestorship.  The  Quaestors 
were  financial  secretaries,  who  assisted  the  provincial 
governors,  to  whom  they  were  assigned  by  the  process  of 
balloting.  Agricola  happened  to  be  attached  to  Salvius 
Otho,  Proconsul  of  Asia.  *  His  superior  was  profligate 
and  rapacious,  and  the  province  dangerously  full  of 
temptations.  The  young  Quaestor  was  untouched  by 
these  sinister  influences.  The  office  of  Tribune  followed 
in  due  time,  and  was  succeeded  by  that  of  Praetor. 
Agricola  continued  to  bear  himself  with  a  judicious 
discretion.  He  was  living  in  peculiar  days  when 
inaction  was  wisdom. 

Meanwhile  he  had  married.  His  wife  is  described 
as  being  of  illustrious  family.  As  her  name  was 
Domitia,  it  is  possible  that  she  was  connected  with 
Nero  t  himself.  The  terrible  year  which  witnessed 
the  fall  of  three  pretenders  to  the  throne  brought  a 
grievous  trouble  .  to  Agricola,  in  the  death  of  his 
mother,  who  was  murdered  by  a  party  belonging  to 
Otho's  fleet  at  her  country-house  at  Albintemelium 
(Vintimiglia),  not  far  from  Genoa.  A  second  service 
in  Britain  followed  the  next  year  (A.D.  70),  this  time 

*  The  western  part  of  Lesser  Asia. 

t  Nero's  father  was  a  Domitius,  but  bearing  the  surname  of 
Ahenobarbus.  while  that  of  Domitia's  father  was  Decidianus. 


A   GREAT   CAPTAIN.  247 

under  Cerialis,  a  brilliant  but  somewhat  reckless 
officer,  who  had  had  a  great  share  in  suppressing 
the  revolt  of  Civilis  and  North-eastern  Gaul. 

The  next  promotion  was  one  of  great  importance. 
It  was  nothing  less  than  the  Government  of  Aqui- 
tania,  a  province  reaching  from  the  Pyrenees  to  the 
Loire.  This  office  he  held  for  somewhat  less  than 
three  years  (74-77).  Tacitus  is  emphatic  in  praise 
of  his  administrative  powers,  dwelling  on  his  acute- 
ness  as  a  Judge,  his  courtesy,  modesty,  and  disinter- 
estedness, his  happy  combination  of  dignity  and 
courtesy.  No  one,  he  says,  presumed  on  his  kindness, 
and  no  one  resented  his  severity.  "  As  to  his 
integrity  and  blameless  life,'*  he  goes  on,  "it  would 
be  an  insult  to  such  a  man  even  to  speak  of  them. " 
He  returned  to  Rome  in  A.D.  77,  and  for  the  second 
half  of  this  year  was  Consul.  In  the  following  year 
he  gave  his  daughter  to  Tacitus,  the  historian,  a 
happy  choice,  which  seems  to  have  turned  out  well 
for  all  concerned  in  it,  and  for  the  world,  which 
probably  owes  to  it  one  of  the  most  admirable  of 
biographies.  His  period  of  office  completed,  Agricola 
received  the  command  in  Britain,  and  held  it  for 
eight  years. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  describe  in  detail  his  civil  and 
military  administration.  He  at  once  justified  his 
appointment  by  striking  a  successful  blow  at  a  rebel- 
lious tribe  (the  Ordovices)  in  North  Wales.  His  next 


248  A   GREAT    CAPTAIN. 

exploit  was  to  renew  his  acquaintance  with  Mona, 
from  which,  eighteen  years  before,  Suetonius  had 
been  recalled  ere  he  could  complete  his  conquest. 
The  island  was  surrendered  to  Agricola  without  his 
having  to  strike  a  blow.  The  next  five  years  were 
occupied  in  extending  the  Roman  dominions  on  the 
north  of  the  island.  One  cannot  read  without  regret 
the  story  of  the  unsuccessful  struggles  which  the 
gallant  tribes  of  Caledonia  made  in  resisting  the 
invader;  nor  can  we  wholly  acquit  Agricola  himself 
of  ambition  and  the  lust  of  conquest;  indeed,  his 
biographer  expressly  states,  and  without  a  hint  of 
blame,  that  he  found  in  war  a  remedy  for  the  private 
sorrow  of  losing  his  only  son.  Still  we  know  from 
our  own  national  experience  that  frontier  wars  are 
the  inevitable  result  of  a  widely  extended  empire, 
and  that  Agricola  did  not  do  much  more  than  meet 
the  necessities  of  his  position.  The  principal  achieve- 
ment of  these  campaigns  was  the  establishment  of 
a  line  of  forts  between  the  estuaries  of  the  Forth 
and  the  Clyde,  and  the  final  victory  of  the  Romans 
over  the  forces  of  Calgacus  at  the  foot  of  the  Gram- 
pian hills. 

I  cannot  agree  with  the  patriotic  historians  who 
have  attempted  to  read  into  Tacitus's  account  of 
this  battle  a  confession  of  defeat.  It  is  impossible 
to  doubt  that  the  valour  of  the  tribes  was  over- 
powered by  the  superior  discipline  and  more  effective 


A    GREAT    CAPTAIN.  249 

arms  of  the  legions,  guided  as  they  were  by  the 
consummate  genius  of  one  of  the  greatest  of  Roman 
captains. 

If  we  wanted  a  proof  of  the  reality  of  the  victory, 
we  should  find  it  in  the  undisguised  jealousy  of  the 
Emperor.  Domitian  had  tried  his  own  skill  as  a 
general  with  but  little  success,  and  he  viewed  with 
alarm,  not  wholly  unfounded,  seeing  that  the  Imperial 
power  rested  ultimately  on  the  army,  the  great  victo- 
ries of  his  lieutenant  m  Britain.  Agricola  was  recalled. 
So  fearful  was  the  Emperor  that  he  might  refuse 
to  surrender  his  power,  that  he  sent  a  special 
agent  with  instructions  to  offer  him,  should  he  have 
remained  in  Britain  after  his  recall,  the  province  of 
Syria,  and  with  it  the  command  of  the  legions  of  the 
East.  The  agent  in  crossing  the  channel  met  Agric- 
ola on  his  homeward  way,  and  returned  without 
having  an  interview  with  him.  * 

Agricola  reported  himself  to  the  Emperor  imme- 
diately on  his  return,  visiting  the  palace  (so  careful 
was  he  to  avoid  offence)  at  night.  Domitian  received 
him  with  an  "  official  kiss, "  but  without  a  word  of 
•welcome  or  thanks. 

For  nine  years  Agricola  lived  in  Rome.  It  was 
a  time  of  restlessness  at  home  and  disaster  abroad. 
Army  after  army  had  been  defeated  or  destroyed; 
there   was  no  longer  any  question  of  extending  the 

*  Tacitus  relates  this  story  with  a  certain  reserve. 


250  A   GREAT    CAPTAIN. 

limits  of  tlie  empire;  it  was  doubtful  whether  Rome 
could  hold  her  own,  whether  the  frontier  legions 
would  not  have  to  abandon  their  quarters.  All  eyes 
were  turned  on  Agricola.  He  was  the  one  man  who 
could  restore  supremacy  to  the  Roman  arms.  The 
jealousy  of  Domitian  grew  more  and  more  frantic  as 
time  went  on.  He  offered  the  great  soldier  the 
Government  of  Asia,  and,  though  it  was  not  one 
where  he  could  display  his  military  genius,  used  all 
his  influence   to  make  him  decline  the  appointment. 

In  93  A.  D.  the  end  came.  Tacitus  expresses  him- 
self in  guarded  language,  which  I  shall  translate  as 
closely  as  1  can.  **  There  v/as  a  persistent  rumour 
that  he  was  poisoned.  Of  this  I  have  no  certain 
knowledge,  and  so  will  make  no  assertion. 

*  Still,  during  the  whole  course  of  his  illness,  the  Em- 
peror's principal  freedmen  and  most  confidential  physi- 
cians came  with  a  frequency  quite  unusual  with  the  Em- 
peror, who  commonly  made  such  enquiries  by  ordinary 
messengers.  This  may  have  been  affection,  or  it  may 
have  been  curiosity.  It  is  known  that  on  the  last 
day  of  Agricola's  life,  the  particulars  of  his  dying 
hours  were  carried  to  the  Emperor  by  a  regular 
service  of  messengers;  and  no  one  believed  that  the 
news  which  he  made  such  haste  to  learn  was  unwel- 
come. Still,  he  made  a  display  of  grief  in  spirit  and 
look.  His  hatred  troubled  him  no  more;  and  it  was 
easier  to  conceal  joy  than  fear." 


A    GREAT    CAPTAIN.  251 

The  sketch  which  Tacitus  gives  of  the  great 
soldier's  outward  appearance  is  brief  and  unsatisfying. 
"He  was  well  made,  but  not  tall;  a  gracious  look 
was  his  predominant  expression.  It  was  easy  to 
believe  him  a  good  man;  pleasant  to  believe  him 
great. " 

Agricola  was  barely  fifty-four  when  he  died ;  happy, 
says  his  biographer,  in  being  taken  away  from  the 
evil  to  come,  the  dark  days  of  Domitian's  reign  of 
terror,  a  period  from  the  guilt  and  shame  of  which 
Tacitus  does  not  feel  himself  to  be  wholly  free.  He 
had  been  an  eye-witness  of  these  fearful  deeds  even  a 
passive  participator  in  them.  The  last  chapter  of  the 
"Agricola,"  in  which  he  confesses  his  own  weakness 
and  pays  his  last  tribute  to  the  dead,  is  a  piece  of 
noble  eloquence. 

One  passage  I  must  quote:  "If,"  he  says,  "there 
is  a  dwelling-place  for  the  souls  of  the  just;  if,  as 
the  wise  believe,  great  spirits  do  not  perish  with  the 
body,  rest  thou  in  peace,  and  recall  us  thy  kindred 
from  weak  regrets  and  womanish  laments  to  the 
contemplation  of  thy  virtues,  virtues  for  which  we 
may  not  wail  or  beat  the  breast.  Let  us  honour 
thee  with  admiration,  ay,  and  if  our  strength  suffice, 
with  imitation,  rather  than  with  transitory  praises. 
This  will  be  true  respect;  this  the  dutiful  affection 
of  thy  dearest  and  nearest.  This  injunction  I  would 
lay  on  wife,  on  daughter,  to  honour  the  memory 
17 


252  A    GREAT    CAPTAIN. 

of  husband,  of  father,  by  dwelling  on  all  his  great 
deeds  and  words,  and  by  cherishing  the  glorious 
greatness  of  his  soul  rather  than  of  his  body.  It 
is  not  that  I  object  to  the  likenesses  that  are 
wrought  in  marble  or  bronze;  but  as  the  features 
of  men  are  frail  and  mortal,  so  are  the  things  that 
picture  them:  the  fashion  of  the  soul  is  enduring. 
This  we  can  realize  and  represent,  not  by  foreign 
substances,  however  skilfully  wrought,  but  by  the 
moulding  of  our  own  characters.  Whatever  we 
loved  in  Agricola,  whatever  we  admired,  abides 
and  will  abide  in  the  souls  of  men,  in  the  endless 
march  of  the  ages,  in  the  fame  that  waits  on 
noble  deeds." 


XXIX. 

A  ROMAN  GENTLEMAN. 

TO  the  younger  Pliny — for  it  is  in  him  that  I  see 
the  type  of  a  "Roman  Gentleman" — my  readers 
were  introduced  in  an  earlier  chapter.  He  was  then 
living  with  his  uncle  and  adopting  father,  learning 
from  him,  and  helping  in  his  literary  work.  Of  his 
earlier  history — he  was  then  in  his  eighteenth  year — 
there  is  little  to  be  told.  He  was  a  native  of  Comum, 
where  his  family,  a  branch  of  the  Caecilii,  had  been 
long  settled.  *  His  father  died  in  early  manhood, 
leaving  him  to  the  guardianship  of  Verginius  Rufus, 
a  distinguished  soldier  and  statesman,  who  afterwards 
twice  refused  the  imperial  throne. 

Verginius  was  at  the  time  absent  in  command  of  the 
legions  which  guarded  the  frontier  of  the  Upper  Rhine. 
Opportunely  enough,   his  mother's  brother,  the  elder 

*  More  than  a  century  before  we  find  Catullus  inviting  a 
Caecilius  of  Comum,  whom  he  addresses  as  a  brother  poet,  to 
visit  him  at  Verona. 


254  A    ROMAN    GENTLEMAN. 

Pliny,  left  Rome  at  this  time  to  reside  at  Comum.  With 
him  the  widow  and  her  two  sons  (for  there  was  an  elder 
boy  who  seems  to  have  survived  his  father  for  but 
a  short  time)  went  to  live.  The  arrangement  lasted 
till  A.D.  72,  when  the  elder  Pliny  was  summoned 
to  Rome  by  the  Emperor  Vespasian.  Plinia  and  her 
son,  who  by  this  time  had  been  adopted  by  his  uncle, 
accompanied  him,  and  remained  with  him  for  the 
rest  of  his  life.  A  year  after  his  uncle's  death 
Pliny  made  his  first  appearance  as  an  advocate  in 
the  "  Court  of  the  Hundred, "  which  had  a  jurisdic- 
tion in  what  we  call  equity.  He  was  not  yet  nine- 
teen. Very  soon  afterwards  he  was  made  a  subor- 
dinate magistrate.  Some  period  of  military  service 
was  obligatory,  and  we  find  him  in  the  following 
year  (A.D.  81)  holding  an  honorary  commission  as 
tribune  in  Syria.  He  saw  no  active  service,  being 
employed  in  the  finance  department  of  the  provincial 
government.  Most  of  his  leisure  was  spent  in  the 
learned  and  philosophical  society  of  Antioch. 

Returning  to  Rome,  probably  as  soon  as  the  obli- 
gatory term  of  six  months  was  completed,  he  practised 
with  diligence  and  success  as  an  advocate.  In 
89  he  was  Quaestor;  in  91  Tribune;  in  93  Praetor. 
His  praetorship  was  marked  by  the  discharge  of  an 
important  duty.  He  undertook,  in  company  with 
d  friend,  the  prosecution  of  Baebius  Massa,  late 
Procurator    of   Baetica  (Portugal)    at  the  instance  of 


A   ROMAN    GENTLEMAN.  255 

the    province,    and    obtained   a    verdict  against  him. 

Perilous  times  followed.  A  reign  of  terror  made 
the  name  of  Domitian  as  infamous  as  that  of  Nero 
had  been  before  him.  Informers  plied  their  trade 
with  such  zeal  and  success  that  no  man's  life  was 
safe.  Pliny's  name  had  been  already  inscribed  on 
the  fatal  list  (his  old  enemy,  Massa,  was  now  in 
high  favour)  when  Domitian  fell  by  the  hand  of  an 
assassin^  and  Rome  began  to  breathe  again.  The 
new  regime  brought  to  Pliny  new  honours  and  em- 
ployments. In  A.D.  100  he  was  made  consul,  and 
about  eleven  years  afterwards  received,  by  a  special 
arrangement  between  the  Senate  and  the  Emperor, 
the  governorship  of  Bithynia.  *  After  this  we  hear 
no  more  of  him. 

The  last  sixteen  years  of  Pliny's  life  are  covered 
by  a  series  of  letters,  which  he  began  to  publish  in 
A.D.  97.  There  are  ten  books,  the  last  of  which 
contains  a  correspondence  which  refers  for  the  most 
part  to  the  governorship  of  Bithynia.  These  letters 
furnish,  as  may  be  supposed,  abundant  material  for 
my  picture. 

It  is  curious  to  see  within  what  narrow  limits  the 
activities  of  a  Roman  gentleman  who  aspired  to  take 
a  part  in  public  life  were  confined.     In  Pliny's  case 

*  Bithynia  was  commonly  among  the  provinces  to  which  the 
Senate  appointed,  but  in  this  instance,  as  the  administration 
had  fallen  into  confusion,  the  Emperor  (Trajan)  nominated. 


256  A    ROMAN    GENTLEMAN. 

they  are  almost  limited,  till  he  went  to  take  up  the 
government  of  his  province,  to  what  we  should  call 
State  trials.  As  Quaestor  and  Tribune  he  had 
practically  nothing  to  do ;  his  duties  as  Praetor  were 
apparently  confined  to  the  management  of  the  public 
shows  and  games.  But  when  he  was  holding  this 
last  office,  he  prosecuted,  as  has  been  already  said, 
a  corrupt  official,  and  after  the  fall  of  the  tyrant, 
he  became  more  active  in  this  direction.  Immediately 
after  the  accession  of  Nerva,  he  impeached  one 
Certus,  who  had  been  a  particularly  noxious  informer, 
and  though  the  Emperor  vetoed  the  proceedings, 
succeeded  in  stopping  the  guilty  man's  career. 

Two  years  afterwards  he  undertook,  this  time  in 
concert  with  his  intimate  friend,  the  historian  Tacitus, 
the  prosecution  of  Marius  Priscus,  who  had  been 
scandalously  venal  in  his  government  of  Northern 
Africa,  and  pleaded  for  his  old  friends  of  Baetica 
against  the  representatives  of  their  late  Governor, 
Classicus.  His  subsequent  appearances  in  cases  of 
this  kind  were  for  the  defence.  Political  life  proper 
hardly  existed  under  the  Empire.  Still  more  remark- 
able is  the  complete  control  which  we  find  the 
Emperor  exercising  over  the  proceedings  of  the  Pro- 
vincial Governor.  It  is  simply  astonishing  to  find 
how  matters  of  detail,  which  a  Town  Council  would 
now  dispose  of  without  any  hesitation,  are  referred 
by    a   Governor,    specially    appointed,    it    should   be 


A   ROMAN    GENTLEMAN.  257 

remembered,  for  his  efficiency,  to  the  decision  of  the 
Emperor. 

The  people  of  Nicaea  *  had  been  building  a  new 
gymnasium  in  place  of  one  that  had  been  burnt  down. 
The  new  structure  was  very  ill-arranged,  and  a 
second  architect,  who  had  been  called  in  to  advise, 
declared  that  the  walls  were  not  properly  cemented. 
Pliny  wants  to  know  what  was  to  be  done.  Nico- 
media  had  been  half  burnt  down,  while  the  people 
looked  on  without  offering  help.  Would  the  Emperor 
sanction  the  enrolment  of  a  volunteer  fire-brigade? 
Trajan  answers  with  a  decided  negative.  Volunteer' 
associations  were  apt  to  become  political  clubs.  At 
Amastria  the  river  had  been  turned  by  sewage  into 
a  huge  drain — one  mJght  be  reading  of  a  modern 
town — would  the  Emperor  sanction  the  expense  of 
covering  it  over  ?  After  a  while  Trajan  remonstrates, 
when,  for  instance,  he  is  asked  to  send  an  architect 
from  Rome  to  superintend  some  local  works.  But; 
on  the  wholO;  the  system,  which  implies  a  quite 
amazing  amount  of  centralization,  approved  itself  to 
him..  That  high  officials  under  it  were  nothing  more 
than  clerks,  is  perfectly  evident. 

One  can  easily  understand,  therefore,  that  literature 
offered  more  of  a  career  than  politics.  It  is  in  lite- 
rature that   Pliny's   chief  interests  centre.     He  was 

•  Afterwards  famous  as  the  meeting-place  of  the  First 
General  Council. 


258  A    ROMAN    GENTLEMAN. 

an  author  himself,  though  of  a  somowhat  dilettante 
sort. 

He  liked  to  publish  any  important  speech  that 
he  made  in  the  Courts  or  before  the  Senate.  The 
letters  from  which  I  quote  were  a  new  experiment 
in  literature.  Cicero's  letters  had,  indeed,  been 
published  after  his  death  by  his  freedman  and  secret- 
ary, Tiro.  But  the  publication  was  meant  as  a 
contribution  to  history.  Pliny  published  his  corres- 
pondence, book  by  book,  with  a  distinctly  literary 
purpose.  Then  he  was  something  of  a  poet,  though 
he  does  not  seem  to  have  aimed  at  anything  higher 
than  writing  "  society  verses. "  But  his  interest  in 
the  literary  activity  of  others  was  great  and  genuine. 
When  the  opportunity  occurred,  he  played  with  great 
zest  the  part  of  the  kindly  critic  or  the  liberal  patron. 

He  makes  a  handsome  present  to  Martial,  the  epi- 
grammatist, when  he  leaves  Rome  for  his  native 
Spain,  and  laments  the  poet's  death  four  years  after- 
wards in  a  sympathetic  letter.  The  Greek  litterateurs 
and  rhetoricians,  against  whom  Juvenal  pours  out 
such  unmeasured  wrath,  found  in  him  a  warm  friend, 
ready  to  help  them  with  his  purse,  and  with  what 
some  patrons  find  it  harder  to  give  than  money,  his 
personal  presence  and  encouragement. 

This  he  was  ready  to  lend  to  all  aspirants  after 
literary  fame.  Nothing,  indeed,  shows  the  good- 
nature  of  the  man  more  than  the  way  in  which  he 


A   ROMAN    GENTLEMAN.  259 

speaks  of  tlie  recitations  or  public  readings  by  which 
it  was  the  common  practice  for  writers  at  Rome  to 
introduce  their  works  to  the  notice  of  a  larger  circle 
than  that  of  their  immediate  friends.  There  is  reason 
to  believe  that  these  readings  had  become  a  bore 
of  the  first  magnitude  at  Rome  in  Pliny's  time. 
Horace  complains  of  the  "troublesome  reader,"  and 
Juvenal  includes  among  the  terrors  of  city  life  "  the 
poet  who  recited  from  the  first  day  of  August  till 
the  last." 

Pliny  seems  to  have  attended  these  performances 
with  unwearied  diligence.  He  mentions  in  one  of 
his  letters  that  the  year  had  produced  a  quite  amaz- 
ing crop  of  poets,  there  having  been,  in  parti- 
cular, scarcely  a  day  in  April  on  which  some  one 
did  not  give  a  reading.  He  gravely  blames  people 
who  were  less  enthusiastic  or  patient  than  himself. 
There  were  many  who  lounged  outside  as  long  as 
they  possibly  could,  and  only  entered  the  lecture- 
room  when  they  were  assured  that  the  reader  had 
got  through  a  considerable  part  of  his  manuscript. 
Coming  late,  they  also  went  away  early,  some 
creeping  out  by  stealth,  some  boldly  leaving  the 
room  without  any  attempt  at  concealment.  Pliny 
will  have  none  of  this  indifference  and  half-hearted- 
ness.  He  has  not  failed,  he  tells  his  correspondent, 
a  single  reader.  He  had  stopped  in  town  to  hear 
his  friends,  and  even  some  who  were  not  his  friends. 


2  GO  A    ROMAN    GENTLEMAN. 

recite.  Kow  he  was  going  to  enjoy  the  leisure  that 
would  enable  him  to  write  something  himself,  "  some- 
thing," he  adds,  ^  wlilcli  1  shall  not  read, ^  He  would 
not  have  it  thought  that  he  had  been  doing  a  service 
which  he  looked  to  have  repaid. 

This  was  no  affectation  in  Pliny.  Sometimes, 
doubtless,  his  presence  was  chiefly  due  to  a  kindly 
courtesy ;  but  it  commonly  expressed  a  genuine  inter- 
est in  literature.  In  fact  this  was  the  most  import- 
ant thing  in  life  to  him.  His  words,  when  he  is 
speaking  on  this  subject,  have  an .  unmistakable  ring 
of  true  feeling.  "  I  find,"  he  says,  "  my  joy  and 
solace  in  literature.  There  is  no  gladness  that  this 
cannot  increase,  no  grief  that  this  cannot  lighten. 
The  ill-health  of  my  wife,  the  grievous  sickness,  and 
sometimes,  alas!  the  death  of  my  friends  troubles 
me,  but  I  fly  to  my  books  as  the  alleviation  of  my 
fears."  The  words  may  seem  cold  to  us  who  have 
had  the  opportunity  of  learning  what  Pliny  never 
knew;  bit  they  at  least  show  us  a  man  who  disdained 
an  igmbl3  refuge  from  the  ills  of  life. 

Education  is  closely  akin  to  literature,  and  in 
education  Pliny  showed  the  liveliest  and  most  practical 
interest.  His  native  town  was  without  a  school. 
He  had  himself  found  an  efficient  instructor  in  his 
uncle,  but  less  fortunate  lads  had  to  go  for  their 
education  to  Milan.  Accordingly  he  promised  the 
people    of  Como    that    he    would    add    such    a    sum 


A   EOMAN    GENTLEMAN.  261 

to  what  tliey  themselves  should  raise,  that  his  con- 
tribution should  bear  the  proportion  of  one  third  of 
the  whole.  He  would  have  been  glad  to  give  all, 
but  that  his  experience  told  him  that  such  endow- 
ments wore  often  jobbed  away.  People,  to  be  careful, 
must  feel  that  it  was  their  own  money  that  they 
were  spending.  With  equal  sagacity  he  determined 
to  put  the  appointment  of  the  teacher  into  the  hands 
of  the  townspeople  themselves.  Pliny  seems  to  have 
given  this  money  in  his  lifetime,  for  it  does  not 
appear  among  his  legacies.  Indeed  his  language 
implies  as  much.  An  inscription  to  a  schoolmaster, 
discovered  at  Como,  the  modern  representative  of 
Pliny's  birth-place,  seems  to  show  that  the  school  was 
actually  founded. 

The  love  of  a  country  life  was  a  prominent  feature 
in  Pliny's  character.  He  had  abundant  opportunities 
of  gratifying  it  when  the  time  came  for  leaving 
Rome.  He  gives  us  to  understand  that  he  was  not 
in  the  first  rank  of  wealthy  men;  nevertheless  he 
seems  to  have  possessed  a  quite  amazing  number  of 
country-houses.  Two — his  winter  residence,  some 
twenty  miles  south  of  Rome,  on  the  coast  of  what 
is  now  the  Campagna,  and  his  summer  retreat  in 
Etruria,  at  the  foot  of  the  Apennines — are  described 
at  great  length.  It  is  not  easy  to  realize  their  plan 
and  appearance  from  what  their  owner  tells  us  about 
them,  but  it  is  quite  clear  that  they  were  fine  houses. 


202  A  ROMAN   GENTLEMAN. 

with  tennis-courts,  handsome  baths,  places  for  horse 
exercise,  and  spacious  gardens.  He  had  seats  also, 
which  he  does  nothing  more  than  mention,  at  the 
favourite  summer  resorts  of  wealthy  Romans,  as 
\^Tusculum,  Tibur,  and  Proeneste.  And  he  had  several 
villas  on  the  lake  of  Como  (then  commonly  known  as 
the  Lacus  Larius)  of  which  two  were  his  favourites, 
called  respectively.  Tragedy  and  Comedy,  from  the 
sombre  character  of  the  one,  and  the  cheerful  appear- 
ance of  the  other. 

We  generally  connect  the  idea  of  sport  with  a 
country  life.  Pliny  was  not  wholly  without  the  taste 
for  such  amusements,  but  he  seems  to  have  followed 
them  in  a  half-hearted  sort  of  way.  He  would  go 
out  boar-hunting  when  he  was  at  his  Tuscan  country- 
house,  but  contented  himself  with  sitting  by  the 
nets,  equipped  at  once  with  a  hunting  spear  and  a 
pen.  If  no  game  happened  to  come  his  way,  he 
was  perfectly  content  to  spend  the  time  in  jotting 
down  something  on  his  tablets.  If  the  hunting 
goddess,  as  he  puts  it,  did  not  favour  him,  he  might 
be  more  fortunate  with  the  goddess  of  letters.  Of 
angling  he  makes  a  slight  mention.  It  was  an  at- 
traction in  one  of  his  Como  villas  that  he  could 
fish  in  the  lake  from  out  of  the  windows. 

The  glimpses  that  Pliny  gives  us  of  his  home  life 
are  very  pleasing.  His  first  wife  he  lost  in  hij  early 
manhood ;  we  know  nothing  about  her,  not  even  her 


A   ROMAN    GENTLEMAN.  2G3 

name.  The  second  was  a  Calpurnia,  and  a  native 
of  the  same  town  as  her  husband.  To  her  he  was 
most  tenderly  attached.  His  letters  are  the  letters 
of  a  lover.  "I  am  glad,"  he  writes  in  one,  "that 
you  miss  me.  For  my  part,  I  read  and  re-read  your 
letters,  taking  them  up  again  and  again,  as  if  they 
were  newly  come.  But  all  this  only  stirs  in  me  a 
keener  longing.  Write  as  often  as  you  can,  though 
this  tortures  me  as  much  as  it  delights. "  In  another 
we  read,  "  I  spend  a  great  part  of  the  night  awake 
and  dwelling  on  your  image ;  by  day,  when  the  hour 
returns  at  which  I  was  wont  to  visit  you,  my  feet 
take  me,  without  my  knowledge,  to  your  chamber. 
The  only  time  that  is  free  from  these  torments 
is  when  I  am  worn  out  by  business.  Judge  what 
my  life  must  be  when  I  find  my  repose  in  toil  and 
my  relief  in  anxiety! "  Writing  to  an  aunt  of  his 
wife,  another  Calpurnia,  he  is  loud  in  her  praise. 
He  dwells  on  her  intelligence,  her  frugality,  her 
keen  interest  in  his  pursuits.  It  specially  charmed 
him  that  she  set  to  the  harp  and  sang  his  verses, 
taught,  he  says,  "  by  love,  who  is  the  best  of  masters. " 
He  seems  to  have  had  no  children.  This,  indeed, 
was  the  greatest  disappointment  of  his  life.  Of  his 
freedmen  and  slaves,  he  always  speaks  in  the  kindest 
way.  We  find  him  sending  a  consumptive  freedman 
to  Egypt,  and  afterwards,  when  a  relapse  had  come 
on.  to  Frcjus  in  the  Riviera.     The  death  of  his  slaves 


264  A    ROMAN    GENTLEMAN. 

troubled  him,  he  writes  to  a  friend,  greatly,  not 
because  they  wore  property,  but  because  they  were 
men.  He  was  always  glad  to  make  them  free. 
They  had  his  leave  to  make  wills,  with  this  restric- 
tion only  that  they  were  not  to  leave  away  their 
property  outside  the  family.  Altogether,  we  may 
believe,  Pliny's  slaves  had  a  fortunate  lot. 

Pliny's  friends  were  numerous.  He  numbered  great 
soldiers,  eminent  patriots  and  famous  men  of  letters 
among  them.  He  can  write  to  them  in  very  varied 
moods.  He  is  sportive  and  serious  by  turns,  and 
he  is  especially  happy  when  he  seeks  to  console  in 
trouble. 

We  may  allow  that  his  aims  were  not  very  lofty. 
Perhaps  a  nobler  temper  would  have  been  less  con- 
tent with  the  world  in  which  he  lived.  We  miss 
entirely  the  note  of  spiritual  feeling.  But  he  lived 
we  may  believe,  up  to  his  light,  a  cultured,  blameless 
man,  who  did  his  best  to  make  others  happy» 


XXX. 

A  F J  MILT  OF  PATRIOTS. 

THE  *  Opposition "  under  the  regime  of  the  Roman 
Empire  was  an  aristocratic  party;  of  popular 
revolt  against  the  despotism  founded  by  Julius  and 
consolidated  by  Augustus  and  his  successor  we 
scarcely  'hear.  That  despotism  was  indeed  essentially 
democratic  in  its  aim  and  temper.  It  courted  the 
people,  gave  them  peace  and  plenty,  and  even  con- 
descended to  listen  to  their  voices  when  they  fancied 
themselves  aggrieved. 

But  it  found  a  bitter  enemy  in  the  worthier  part  of  the 
nobility.  When  I  say  "  worthier  part."  I  pronounce  no 
opinion  on  the  respective  merits  of  the  Roman  despots  and 
the  Roman  oligarchs.  It  may  well  be  doubted  whether 
the  world  would  have  been  benefited  by  the  overthrow 
of  the  Empire  in  favour  of  the  aristocratic  con- 
spirators who  from  time  to  time  plotted  against  it. 
Still  it  is  a  fact  that  the  nobles  who  hated  the 
Empire  were  worthier  than  the  nobles  who  accepted 


266  A   FAMILY   OF    PATrjOTS. 

it.  They  were  not  satisfied  with  the  safe  and  ignoble 
enjoyment  of  their  large  possessions.  They  looked 
back  to  the  days  when  their  ancestors  had  ruled 
the  world,  and  they  aspired  to  restore  them.  And 
it  is  possible  to  have  respect  for  their  aspirations. 
There  are  parties  which  are  the  better  for  living 
in  the  "  cold  shade  of  opposition,"  and  the  disaf- 
fected aristocrats  of  the  Empire  were  vastly  superior 
to  the  faction  so  foolish,  so  blind,  so  incapable, 
which  represented  the  same  class  in  the  last  century 
of  the  Republic.  The  subject  of  this  chapter  is  a 
family  that  belonged  to  this   class. 

AFtRIA. 

In  the  second  year  of  Claudius  (A.D.  42)  an  effort 
was  made  to  change,  if  not  the  system  of  govern- 
ment, at  least  the  person  of  the  governor.  The 
officer  in  command  of  the  armies  of  Dalmatia  bore 
one  of  the  very  noblest  of  Roman  names,  and  claimed 
descent  from  the  Camillus  who  had  saved  Rome 
from  the  Gauls.  He  sent  a  letter  to  the  Emperor, 
bidding  him  abdicate  his  throne,  and  proclaimed  the 
Republic  in  his  camp.  For  five  days  the  soldiers 
acquiesced,  but  the  idea  created  no  enthusiasm.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  the  army  was  in  revolt  against 
their  general,  and  either  killed  him  or  forced  hira 
to   commit  suicide;    for  the  accounts  differ.     Among 


A   FAMILY    OF   PATRIOTS.  267 

his  oflicers  was  one  Coecina  Paetus.  We  know 
nothing  about  him  except  that  he  had  been  Consul, 
that  he  was  implicated  in  his  superior's  guilt,  and 
was  deemed  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  sent  for 
to  Rome  and  brought  to  trial  before  the  Senate.  But 
his  wife  was  a  remarkable  woman.  She  was  with 
her  husband  in  the  camp,  and  had  doubtless  shared 
his  schemes.  When  he  was  being  taken  to  Rome, 
she  begged  permission  to  accompany  him.  The  officer 
in  command  refused.  She  urged  her  request.  "A 
man  of  his  rank, "  she  said,  "  will  of  course  have 
his  attendants  to  wait  upon  him  at  table  and  dress 
him.  You  can  save  the  expense;  I  will  do  every- 
thing myself. 

Still  meeting  with  refusal,  she  hired  a  fishing 
boat,  and  followed  the  ship  in  which  her  husband 
was  being  conveyed  to  Italy.  The  wife  of  Camillus 
turned  "King's  evidence,"  and  testified  against  the 
accused.  Arria  turned  fiercely  upon  her.  "You!  * 
she  cried,  "  sliall  I  listen  to  you  who  saw  your  hus- 
band killed  in  your  arms,  and  yet  endure  to  live?" 
The  trial,  of  course,  ended  in  condemnation.  Paetus 
was  allowed  to  put  an  end  to  his  own  life.  Ho 
shrank  from  the  pain.  Arria  snatched  up  a  dagger 
and  inflicted  on  herself  a  formidable  wound.  "  My 
Paetus, "  she  said,  "  it  does  not  hurt. "  She  was 
resolved  not  to  survive  her  husband.  Her  son-in- 
law    strove    in    vain    to  change  her  purpose.     "If  I 

'^^     OF  THE       '>^ 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


■  ^%f-> 


fA\K. 


268  A    FAMILY    OF  PATRIOTS. 

had  to  die,"  he  asked,  "would  you  have  your  daugh- 
ter die  with  me?"  "Yes,"  she  answered,  ^^if  she 
has  lived  as  happily  with  you  as  I  have  with 
Paetus." 

After  this  she  was  closely  watched.  "  It  is  useless," 
she  told  her  family,  "  you  may  make  my  death 
painful;  but  you  cannot  prevent  it."  As  she  said 
it  she  jumped  up  from  her  chair,  and  dashed  her 
head  violently  against  the  opposite  wall.  Brought 
back  to  life,  she  said,  "  You  see  I  was  right;  I  shall 
find  some  way  to  die,  however  hard  it  may  be,  if 
you  refuse  me  an  easy  one."  It  is  a  relief  to  turn 
to  the  picture  of  a  devotion  for  which  we  can  feel 
a  less  qualified  sympathy.  Some  years  before,  her 
husband  and  her  son  had  been  dangerously  ill.  The 
son,  a  boy  of  singular  promise,  died;  the  physicians 
told  her  that  her  husband  must  not  know  it.  She 
took  all  the  charge  of  the  funeral  without  his  having 
a  suspicion  of  the  truth;  answered  his  questions 
about  the  boy  with  a  cheerful  air — "  He  has  slept 
well;  he  has  taken  his  food  with  relish."  When  the 
tears  that  she  was  keeping  back  were  too  strong  for 
her,  she  would  leave  the  room  and  weep,  and  then 
come  back  again , composed  and  calm,  "as  if,"  says 
Pliny,  who  tells  the  story,  "  she  had  left  her  bereave- 
ment outside  the  chamber  door." 


A  FAMILY    OF    PATRIOTS.  2G9 

THRASEA   AND    THE   YOUNGER   ARRIA. 

Paetus  and  Arria  seem  to  have  left  one  daughter, 
another  Arria.  Little  is  said  of  her,  except  that  she 
was  thoroughly  loyal  to  the  great  traditions  of  her 
name.  She  had  found  a  worthy  husband  in  the 
Thrasea  who  has  been  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
section.  Lucius  Fannius*  Thrasea  Paetus  was  born 
at  Patavium  (Padua)  about  A.D.  15.  Wealthy  and 
noble,  he  naturally  camo  to  Rome  to  seek  such  a 
career  as  the  Imperial  system  still  left  open  to  men 
of  ability. 

Of  his  early  life  we  know  no  details.  That  he 
held  the  usual  offices  we  may  infer  from  the  fact 
that  in  A.D.  47  we  find  him  a  member  of  the  Senate. 
In  that  year  he  undertook  the  cause  of  the  Cilician 
provinces  against  their  infamous  governor  Capito, 
and  conducted  it  with  such  energy  and  success 
that  the  accused  was  condemned.  It  was  a  great 
triumph  for  Thrasea,  but  Capito  bided  his  time  for 
vengeance.  It  was  soon  evident  to  shrewd  observers 
that  he  would  not  have  to  wait  long.  Thrasea  began 
to  show  in  the  Senate  the  independent  temper  which 
was  certain  sooner  or  later  to  bring  him  into  collision 
v^'ith  the  ruling  powers.  He  resisted  a  motion  brought 
forward    by    authority.     It   was   but  a  trifling  mat- 

*  The  *  family  name  *  of  Thrasea  is  uncertain,  but  it  was 
probably  Fannius. 


270  A    FAMILY    OF   PATRIOTS. 

ter,*  but  the  courtiers  angrily  resented  his  interference. 
Thrasea  avowed  to  his  friends  that  his  assertion  of 
independence  in  small  matters  was  to  pave  the  way 
to  a  similar  course  in  affairs  of  importance.  A  small 
Opposition  was  gathering  about  him.  Outside  the  Senate 
his    home    became    the  centre  of  a  "  liberal "  circle. 

One  of  its  most  distinguished  members  was  the  young 
Helvidius  Prisons,  an  ardent  disciple  of  the  Stoic 
school  of  thought,  who  lived  so  faithfully  up  to  his 
belief  that  Thrasea  and  Arria  fixed  upon  him  as  a 
fit  husband  for  their  only  child,  their  daughter  Fannia. 

Topics  more  dangerous  than  philosophy  were  dis- 
cussed at  these  gatherings.  The  politics  of  the  circle 
were  distinctly  republican.  The  birthdays  of  famous 
champions  of  liberty,  of  the  elder  Brutus  who  drove 
out  the  Tarquins,  of  the  younger  Brutus  who  slew 
the  Dictator  Julius,  and  of  his  associate  Cassius,  were 
kept  with  high  festivity.  No  vintage  was  too  precious 
for  the  cups  in  which  their  memory  was  toasted. 
"  Wine,"  says  Juvenal,  when  he  would  describe  the 
very  costliest  kind,  "  such  as  Thrasea  and  Helvidius 
used  to  drink  in  high  state  on  the  birthdays  of  the 
Bruti  and  of  Cassius." 

*  It  was  proposed  that  the  town  of  Syracuse  should  be 
ex.empted  for  the  occasion  from  the  sumptuary  law  of  Augustus, 
restraining  the  expense  of  gladiatorial  shows  in  the  provinces. 
These  were  not  to  be  exhibited  more  than  twice  in  the  year, 
and  not  more  than  sixty  pairs  of  gladiators  Avere  to  contend. 


I 


A   FAMILY   OF   PATRIOTS.  271 

In  59  A.D.,  came  the  serious  occasion  which  was 
sure  to  occur  sooner  or  later.  Nero  had  reached  the 
climax  of  wickedness  by  the  murder  of  his  mother. 
The  Senators  vied  with  each  other  in  offering  shame- 
ful flatteries  to  the  criminal  and  insults  to  the 
dead.  This  was  more  than  Thrasea  could  bear; 
before  his  turn  came  to  speak  he  left  the  Senate- 
house.  Nero  took  no  notice  at  the  time,  but  he  did 
not  forget  it. 

By  his  action  in  the  matter  of  Agrippina,  Thrasea, 
says  Tacitus,  *  imperilled  himself  without  teaching 
courage  to  his  colleagues,"  yet  his  example  was  not 
wholly  fruitless.  In  A.D.  62,  a  certain  Antistius  was 
convicted  of  having  recited  at  a  banquet  some  scur- 
rilous verses  about  Nero.  The  penalty  of  death  was 
proposed,  but  Thrasea  carried  the  Senate  with  him 
when  he  moved  as  an  amendment  that  the  milder 
punishment  of  exile  should  be  substituted. 

In  the  following  year  he  had  a  warning  of  Nero's 
hatred.  The  Empress  Poppaea  had  given  birth  to  a 
daughter,  and  the  Senate  went  in  a  body  to  congrat- 
ulate the  Emperor  on  the  event.  Thrasea  was  for- 
bidden to  enter  the  palace.  After  this  he  retired  as 
much  as  possible  from  public  life,  but  he  could  not 
escape  his  fate.  Indeed  he  gave  great  offence  to  the 
Emperor  by  absenting  himself  from  the  funeral  of 
Poppsea.  He  was  not  one  of  those  who  suffered 
after    Piso's    conspiracy,   but    the   end  was  not  long 


272  A    FAMILY    OF    PATRIOTS. 


I 


delayed.  No  definite  charge  was  made.  His  acts  of 
independence,  his  marked  absence  from  the  Senate, 
were  the  offences  brought  up  against  him.  The  circle 
of  friends  debated  whether  the  accused  should  or 
should  not  present  himself  in  the  Senate  to  hear 
and  answer  the  accusations  brought  against  him. 
The  result  was  not  doubtful ;  the  only  question  was 
whether  he  should  better  consult  his  own  dignity 
and  the  interests  of  liberty  by  his  presence  or 
absence. 

The  more  fiery  spirits  among  his  friends  advised 
him  to  go  and  defy  his  enemies.  One  of  them 
even  offered  to  veto  the  proceedings  in  his  capacity 
of  tribune.  This  last  offer  Thrasea  refused.  "  He 
had  lived  his  life,"  he  said;  "his  younger  friends 
had  theirs  before  them."  The  question  itself  he 
left  for  further  deliberation.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
he  did  not  go.  Probably  he  would  not  have  been 
permitted  to  enter  the  house,  whicb  on  the  day  of 
trial  was  beleaguered  with  troops.  Of  course  the  verdict 
of  guilty  was  returned.  Thrasea  was  condemned  to 
death,  but  allowed  to  execute  his  sentence  with  his 
own  hand.  Helvidius  was  banished.  The  officers 
who  brought  him  the  news  of  his  condemnation 
found  him  in  his  gardens,  surrounded  by  a  numerous 
company  of  friends.  He  received  the  message  with 
philosophic  calm,  even  expressing  some  satisfaction 
that    his    son-in-law's    life    had    been    spared.     His 


A   FAMILY    OF    PATRIOTS.  273 

friends  he  recommondGd  to  leave  him  at  once,  lest 
the  society  of  a  condemned  man  should  endanger 
their  lives.  To  his  wife,  who  was  eager  to  follow 
the  example  of  her  mother  and  die  with  her  hus- 
band, he  counselled  life.  "  Do  not  rob  our  daughter, " 
he  said,  "of  your  help  and  comfort.'* 

His  son-in-law  and  his  intimate  friend,  the  Stoic 
philosopher  Demetrius,  with  whom  he  had  been 
discussing  the  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of  the 
soul,  were  kept  to  be  with  him  to  the  last. 

Retiring  to  his  chamber,  he  severed  the  veins 
in  both  arms.  As  the  blood  flowed  forth,  he  took 
some  on  his  hand,  and  sprinkled  it  on  the  ground 
as  a  libation,  with  the  words,  "  To  Jupiter,  who  sets 
me  free." 

After  a  few  more  words,  from  which  we  only 
learn  that  his  death  was  tedious  and  painful,  the 
narrative  of  Tacitus  breaks  off. 

HELVIDTUS. 

Helvidius  returned  from  his  banishment,  which  he 
seems  to  have  spent  with  his  wife  Fannia  at 
Apollonia   in   Macedonia,    after   the    death    of  Nero. 

His  first  act  was  to  indict  Marcellus,  the  man  who 
had  been  the  instrument  of  Nero's  vengeance  on 
Thrasea.  But  the  accused  was  too  powerful  to  be 
overthrown.     The  establishment  of  Vespasian  on  the 


274  A   FAMILY   OF    PA.TK10TS. 

throne  did  not  please  him.  A  vigorous  Emperor 
put  the  prospect  of  a  republic  into  a  remote  distance. 
All  that  he  could  do  now  was  to  assert  his  independ- 
ence, and  this  he  did,  with  a  boldness  ttiat  certainly 
bordered  on  rashness.  Tacitus  cannot  praise  him 
too  highly ;  but  Suetonius,  who  was  of  another  temper 
from  the  republican  historian^  speaks  of  his  violent 
language.  When  the  new  Emperor  came  to  Rome, 
Helvidius,  alone  among  the  Senators,  saluted  him 
by  the  name  which  he  had  borne  before  his  eleva- 
tion to  the  throne.  This  attitude  he  continued  to 
maintain.  At  last  Vespasian  was  provoked  into 
forbidding  him  to  enter  the  Senate.  Helvidius  answer- 
ed him  with  characteristic  courage. 

The  dialogue  between  them  is  thus  given  by 
Epictetus : — 

Helvidius.  "You  can  expel  me  from  the  Senate; 
but  while  I  am  yet  a  member,  I  must  attend  its 
meetings." 


» 


Vespasian.  "'  Attend,  thenj  but  be  silent. 

Helvidius.  "  Do  not  then  ask  me  for  my  opinion."  * 

Vespasian.  "  But  I  am  bound  to  ask  you." 

Helvidius.  "  Then  I  am  bound  to  say  what  seems 
to  me  right." 

Vespasian.  "If  you  say  it,  I  will  kill  you." 

Helvidius.  "Rave  I  ever  claimed  to  be  immortal? 

*  The  president  of  the  Senate  asked  each  member  in  turn  for 
his  opinion. 


A   FAMILY    OF   PATRIOTS.  275 

Do  your  part,  and  I  will  do  mine.  Your  part  is  to 
kill,  mine  is  to  die  without  fear.  Yours  is  to  send 
me  into  exile,  mine  to  go  into  exile  without  grief." 
And  Vespasian  did  first  send  him  into  exile  and 
then  kill  him.  When  it  was  too  late,  the  fatal 
order  was  recalled.  The  second  messengers  were 
met  by  the  false  report  of  the  victim's  death,  and 
did  not  prosecute  their  journey.  Had  they  done  so, 
his  life  would  have  been  spared.  Vespasian  never 
ceased  to  regret  his  act. 

FANNIA. 

The  wife  of  Helvidius  had  accompanied  him  in 
his  second  exile.  After  his  death  she  was  permitted 
to  return  to  Rome.  But  it  was  not  long  before  a 
third  period  of  exile  followed.  One  of  the  little 
band  of  liberal  thinkers  had  written  the  biography 
of  Helvidius.  He  was  brought  to  trial  for  the  offence, 
and  pleaded  that  he  had  been  requested  to  write  by 
Fannia,  the  widow.  She  was  summoned  before  the 
Senate.  "Did  you  ask  him  to  write?"  thundered 
the  prosecutor.  *I  did,"  said  the  dauntless  woman. 
"  Did  you  give  him  the  diaries  of  Helvidius  ?  "  **  I 
did."  "Did  your  mother  know  of  it?"  "  She  did 
not. "  She  was  banished  for  her  share  in  the  mat- 
ter, and  the  books  were  burnt  by  the  public  execu- 
tioner.    But    Faimia    contrived  to  save  some  copies, 


276  A    FAMILY    OF    PATRIOTS. 

and  carried  tlicm  with  her  to  her  place  of  banish- 
ment. 

After  the  death  of  Domitian,  she  and  her  mother 
returned.  Pliny  took  up  their  case  in  the  Senate, 
and  endeavoured  to  obtain  the  punishment  of  those 
who  had  driven  them  into  exile.  In  this  he  did  not 
succeed,  but  the  rest  of  their  lives  was  at  least  spent 
in  safety  and  honour.  The  last  glimpse  that  we  get 
of  Fannia  shows  a  side  of  her  character  that  we 
might,  perhaps,  not  otherwise  have  realised.  We  see 
her  the  tender,  affectionate  woman. 

"  I  am  grievously  troubled, "  Pliny  writes,  "  by  the 
ill-health  of  Fannia.  She  fell  into  this  while  nursing 
Junia.  The  Vestal  Virgins,  when  so  seriously  ill 
that  they  are  compelled  to  leave  the  Hall  of  Vesta, 
are  committed  to  the  care  and  guardianship  of  matrons. 
It  was  while  diligently  discharging  this  duty  that 
Fannia  imperilled  her  own  life.  She  suffers  from 
continual  fever,  from  a  harassing  cough,  and  the 
greatest  weakness.  Her  spirit  only  is  unbroken — a 
spirit  absolutely  worthy  of  Thrasea,  lier  father,  and 
Helvidius,  her  husband.  A  purer,  holier,  nobler, 
braver  woman  never  was!  And  at  the  same  time, 
how  delightful  she  is,  how  courteous! — how  she  com- 
bines in  herself,  a  thing  that  is  given  only  to  a  few 
to  do,  all  that  is  venerable  and  all  that  is  sweet! 
Another  thing  that  troubles  me,  is  that,  in  her  T 
seem    about    to    lose    again    her  mother;  she  recalls 


A    FAMILY    OF   PATKIOTS.  277 

that  noblo  woman  to  us  so  perfectly,  that  were  we 
to  lose  her,  it  would  open  that  old  wound  afresh 
and  inflict  a  new.  I  honoured  both,  I  loved  both; 
which  I  honoured  and  loved  most  I  cannot  say,  and 
they  would  not  have  me  distinguish." 

Whether  Fannia  lived  or  died  we  do  not  know, 
but  Pliny  speaks  as  if  he  had  little  hope. 

My  story  has  been  a  sad  one,  but  it  at  least  shows 
that  there  were  noble  men  and  women  even  in  the 
worst  days  of  Rome. 


^ 


XXXI. 

jL  fashionable  poet. 

MARCUS   VALERIUS   MARTIALIS    TO   M.    ULPIUS 
OF   HISPALIS,    GREETING. 

ENOW,  most  friendly  and  upright  of  booksellers, 
that  the  Nereid,  which  sailed  from  Ostia  for 
Gades  on  the  kalends  of  this  month  of  April  carries 
for  you  a  parcel  of  books.  Dispose  of  them,  if  the 
citizens  of  Hispalis  are  not  by  this  time  weary  of 
me,  to  your  advantage  and  to  mine.  But  let  me 
first  explain  to  you  candidly — for  it  would  be  shame- 
ful not  to  deal  honestly  with  an  honest  man — how 
it  has  come  to  pass  that  they  are  sent. 

Three  years  ago  I  published  a  book  of  Epigrams, 
being  the  tenth  in  number  of  the  volumes,  which  I  have 
sent  out  since  my  coming  to  this  city.  The  thing  was 
done  in  haste,  and,  as  is  usual  with  things  so  done,  in 
slovenly  fashion.  But  I  was  in  great  straits.  Money^ 
which  as  you  know  is  never  abundant  with  me,  was 


A    FASHIONABLE    POET.  279 

scarce  beyond  tho  common.  One  or  two  private 
patrons  whose  liberality  I  had  been  accustomed  to 
enjoy  were  newly  dead;  another  was  absent  from 
Rome;  another  had  taken  offence  at  something  that 
I  had  written. 

The  Emperor  was  in  an  ill-humour,  and  not  with- 
out cause.  He  was  returned  newly  from  his  campaign 
against  the  Sarmatians,  from  which  he  had  gathered, 
to  say  the  least,  but  a  scanty  crop  of  laurels.  As 
for  me  I  did  not  know  whether  to  be  silent  about 
his  exploits  or  to  write.  I  tried  both  ways,  but 
pleased  him  with  neither.  He  frowned  upon  a  poem 
in  which  I  made  no  mention  of  warlike  matters,  he 
frowned  still  more  upon  verses,  somewhat  flattermg, 
it  must  be  allowed,  in  which  I  extolled  his  martial 
exploits.  In  the  end  I  could  not  get  a  single  dena- 
rlus  from  him;  and  indeed  the  treasury  was  w^ell 
nigh    empty. 

So,  for  sheer  lack  of  money.  I  was  compelled 
to  publish.  The  book  was  ill-written,  copied  as 
it  was  by  almost  illiterate  slaves,  and  altogether 
ill  got- up.  As  for  the  poems,  the  bad  things  were 
in  an  even  greater  majority  than  usual.  *  But  what 
would  you  have?  I  had  to  fill  a  certain  space  and 
was  compelled  to  use  the  sweepings  of  my  desk. 
But    enough    of  the  past.     The  present  is  very  dif- 

*  "  Some    good,    some  moderate,   more  bad "  is  Martial's  own 
estimate  of  his  Epigrams. 


280  A    FASHIONABLE    POET. 

ferent.  We  have  a  new  Emperor,  whom  at  least 
it  is  possible  to  praise  without  telling  lies.  Rome 
is  more  prosperous,  and  my  patrons,  in  consequence 
more  liberal.  My  own  vein  has  been  richer  of  late, 
and  I  have  written  verses  which  are  not  unequal  to 
my  best,  if  that  is  any  commendation.  Accordingly, 
my  good  friend  Trypho,  whom  doubtless  you  know 
to  follow  your  own  trade,  and  whom  I  have  found 
an  honest  man,  though  somewhat  sparing  of  his 
coin,  proposes  to  me  to  publish  this  same  tenth 
book  of  Epigrams  anew. 

''What  of  the  old  stock?"  I  ask,  for  there 
are  some  hundreds  of  copies  still  unsold.  "  We 
will  sell  them  at  half-price"  he  replies.  "Here 
in  Rome?"  I  ask  again.  "Why  not?"  says  he. 
*  Nay "  I  answer,  "  for  there  are  some  who  prefer 
a  bad  thing  for  one  denarius  to  a  good  thing  for 
two.  Let  us  rather  send  them  elsewhere." 

Hence  the  cargo  which  the  Nereid  is  carrying  from 
Ostia  to  Gades.  Are  you  offended,  my  excellent 
Ulpius,  thinking  that  what  is  not  good  enough  for 
Rome  is  good  enough  for  Hispalis?  Then  I  must 
throw  myself  on  your  mercy.  You  indeed  are  worthy 
of  the  best.  But  your  townsmen  ?  Are  they  devoted 
to  letters?  Do  you  find  bookselling  a  lucrative 
business?  Not  so,  unless  you  have  complained 
without  cause.  But  this  book,  believe  me,  is  not 
altogether  bad;    and  it  is  cheap.     The  price  is  little 


A   FASHIONABLE   POET.  281 

more  than  the  cost  of  the  paper.  I  trust  to  your 
kindness  to  do  your  best  for  it  and  for  nie. 

One  word  more  concerning  business.  The  volumes 
are  of  two  kinds ;  the  more  ornamented  might  be  sold 
for  three  denarii,  the  plainer  for  one  and  a  half. 
But  this  I  leave  to  your  judgment.  And  now  for 
other  matters. 

You  ask  me  in  your  last  letter  how  I  have  pros- 
pered. Do  not  think  that  I  am  a  Crassus  when  I 
tell  you  that  I  have  both  a  country  house  and  a 
town  mansion.  As  to  the  country  house,  it  has  at 
least  the  distinction  of  being  the  smallest  in  the 
suburbs  of  Rome.  There  is  a  best  bed-chamber,  in 
which  I  cannot  lie  at  length;  another,  in  which  I 
might  lodge  a  friend,  if  only  the  friend  were  a  pigmy, 
and  a  third,  larger  indeed,  but  with  a  hole  in  the 
roof;  there  is  a  dining-room  which  compels  me  to 
make  my  guests  less  numerous  than  the  Graces,* 
and  a  kitchen  which  would  scarcely  hold  a  peacock 
if  I  could  afford  to  buy  one.  The  garden  is  scarcely 
as  big  as  what  many  dwellers  in  the  town  cultivate 
in  their  windows.  A  cucumber  cannot  lie  at  full 
length  in  it;  a  single  mole  does  all  mj''  digging; 
and  one  field-mouse  will  lay  it  all  as  waste  as  iEtolia 
was    by   the  Great  Boar  of  Calydon.  Seriously^  it  is 

*  "  Not  more  than  the  Muses,  not  fewer  than  the  Graces  " 
was  the  rule  which  a  Roman  was  supposed  to  follow  in  deciding 
the  number  of  his  guests. 


282  A    FASHIONABLE    POET. 

over  small,  but  it  suits  my  means,  and  I  do  not 
trouble  it  much  save  when  the  autumn  heats  and 
fevers  drive  me  from  Rome. 

Of  my  town  mansion — a  grand  name  if  there  is 
nothing  else  that  is  grand  about  it — what  need  to 
speak?  It  is  better  at  least  than  the  lodgings  with 
which  I  was  content  when  I  saw  you.  I  am  independ- 
ent. I  have  no  neighbours  below  me  and  above  me 
to  drive  me  mad  with  their  flute-playing  or  their 
convivial  uproar.  Above  all,  I  am  not  in  danger  of 
being  burnt  to  ashes  with  all  my  belongings  through 
other  people's  carelessness. 

That  was  what  had  nearly  happened  to  me  in 
my  last  abode.  The  whole  block  of  buildings  caught 
fire  through  a  drunken  freak  of  some  young  fellow 
on  the  first  floor— I,  you  may  remember,  lodged 
on  the  third.  By  the  favour  of  the  Muses — if 
indeed  the  Muses  know  or  care  anything  about 
me — I  had  gone  down  to  my  little  villa  for  a 
breath  of  fresh  air  and  so  escaped.  But  my  luckless 
neighbours  on  either  side  of  my  apartment  were 
burnt  to  death;  or,  rather,  one  was  burnt,  the 
other  dashed  out  his  brains  by  leaping  from  his 
window    into    the    street. 

While  I  was  looking  for  another  abode,  Regulus 
the  advocate,  in  return  for  an  epigram  in  which 
I  had  compared  him  to  Cicero,  presented  me  with 
a    little    house    which    he    did    not   think    it   worth 


A   FASHIONABLE    POET.  283 

while  to  repair.  However,  a  friendly  builder/  whom 
I  had  helped  to  get  a  good  contract,  did  what 
was  wanted  at  a  moderate  cost— only  double  his 
own  outlay — and  I  am   perfectly  content. 

The  neighbourhood  is  a  doubtful  one — it  is  near  the 
Temple  of  Flora;  it  is  cold  in  winter  and  hot  in 
summer,  and  damp  all  the  year  round.  Still  it  is 
my  own. 

But  most  of  my  days  I  spend  at  the  club — for 
we  poets  have  a  club.  There  are  thirty  members; 
and  we  might  have  three  hundred,  if  it  seemed  good 
to  us,  for  it  is  incredible  how  many  men  write 
verses  nowadays.  We  have  had  a  chamber  assigned 
to  us  opening  out  on  the  Colonnade  of  Octavia.  It 
has  a  fair  library,  no  Roman  author  of  repute,  and 
few  of  the  Greeks,  being  wanting,  and  some  good 
casts  of  the  ancient  masterpieces  in  sculpture — orig- 
inals, of  course,  are  only  possible  for  wealthy 
publicans  and  slave  dealers. 

We  do  not  boast  curtains  of  Tyrian  purple,  nor 
fine  pavements;  and  the  wine  we  drink  is  Sabine  or 
Alban,  except  some  rich  patron  spares  us  a  cask  of 
Setine  or  Falernian.  But  the  place  is  comfortable 
and  clean,  and,  but  for  the  drawback  that  we  have 
to  listen  to  each  other's  verses,  would  be  altogether 
desirable. 

But    after   all,    the  time   that   I   have  to  myself, 

whether  at  homo  or  at  the  Club  is  very  small,  and 
lu 


284  A   FASHIONABLE   POET. 

if  my  business  demanded  of  me  anything  more  serious 
than  the  trifles  which  I  can  compose  and  write  down 
almost  anyhow,  I  should  have  to  seek  some  other 
place  than  Rome  to  do  it  in.  Before  day-break  I 
have  to  pay  my  morning  calls,  the  first,  and,  I 
am  bound  to  say,  the  most  odious  of  the  day's 
duties. 

These  rich  men,  fellows  who  have  got  rich  by 
countless  rogueries,  or  worse — for  an  informer  is 
worse  than  a  cheat,  as  a  murderer  is  worse  than  a 
thief— often  do  not  condescend  to  take  any  notice 
of  one's  greeting.  Their  favour  is  reserved  for  those 
who  minister  to  their  pleasures,  among  which  hearing 
or  reading  verses,  either  good  or  bad,  is  certainly 
not  to  be  reckoned.  This  done  I  have,  as  often  as 
not,  to  witness  a  friend's  will,  or  his  marriage  con- 
tract, or  his  manumission  of  a  slave,  or  any  one  of 
the  hundred  things  with  which  the  lawyers  hedge 
in  our  lives.  This  done,  and  a  hasty  meal  snatched 
at  home  or  wherever  else  I  can  find  it,  I  have  to 
show  myself  in  the  Consul's  court  or  the  Praetor's. 
Show  myself,  do  I  say?  I  have  to  sit  the  whole 
business  out,  for  when  the  great  man  rises,  of  course 
I  must  be  among  the  crowd  that  escorts  him  to  his 
home.  But  I  am  not  sure  whether  the  Consul's  court 
is  not  a  more  interesting  place  than  a  poet's  recita- 
tion hall.  Anyhow  it  is  sooner  over.  The  Consul 
cuts   it   as    short  as  he  can,  whereas  the  poet — but 


A    FASHIONABLE    POET.  285 

you  know  what  poets  are.  The  whole  day  is  hardly 
enough  for  some  of  them.  The  Diomedeld  in  thirty 
books  ;  for  instance ;  that  was  the  last  horror  that  I  had 
to  endure.  Nor  are  my  duties  as  a  listener  completed 
by  hearing  the  poets  only.  Some  noble  friend  is  going 
to  plead  a  cause;  I  must  form  one  of  the  gallery, 
and  applaud  his  eloquence.  If  I  fail,  no  more  pres- 
ents, no  more  dinners  for  me.  Then  an  orator  is  going 
to  improvise,  or  a  professor  to  lecture.  Do  you  think 
I  can  excuse  myself?  Not  so :  I  want  Mr.  Orator  and 
Mr.  Professor  to  come  to  my  readings,  and  of  course 
I  must  go  to  theirs.  It  is  "  scratch  me,  and  I  will 
scratch  you"  at  Rome.  It  is  four  o'clock  before  I 
can  get  to  the  bath,  pretty  well  tired  out  by  that 
time,  you  may  be  sure — and  then  comes  pay-time. 
I  get  the  wages  for  my  day's  work,  just  enough  to 
pay  for  my  bath,  and  if  I  am  very  frugal  indeed 
for  my  dinner.  * 

I  must  allow  that  I  do  not  often  have  to  dine  at 
my  own  expense.  All  sorts  of  people  ask  me.  You 
see,  though  I  say  it  myself,  I  am  fashionable.  A 
new  man  finds  a  certain  distinction  in  having  me  at 
his  table.  Proculus,  a  young  lawyer,  who  fits  himself 
out  with  handsome  rings,  a  cloak  of  real  Tyrian  purple, 
a  litter  carried  by  eight  tall   Bithynians — all,   you 

*A  hundred  farthings.  As  a  farthing  was  the  fourth  part  of 
an  aSy  and  the  as  was  worth  a  halfpenny,  the  pay  could  not 
have  hecn  more  than  a  shilling. 


286  A   FASHIONABLE   POET. 

must  understand,  on  borrowed  money — is  not  satisfied 
till  he  gets  me  to  dine  with  him.  "You  will  meet 
Martial,"  he  says  in  his  airy  way  to  the  rich  con- 
tractor whom  he  invites  in  the  hope  of  getting  employ- 
ment from  him. 

Then  the  men  who  have  made  their  fortune 
ask  me.  I  am  by  way  of  being  a  passport  to 
good  society.  And  there  are  a  few  real  gentlemen 
of  the  old  Maecenas  type.  It  is  true  that  they  some- 
times write  bad  verses  of  their  own  to  which  we  have 
to  listen — Maecenas,  you  remember,  did  the  same — 
but  they  do  appreciate  anything  that  is  good,  and  are 
civil  to  me,  not  because  it  is  the  fashion,  but  because 
I  really  please  them. 

But  oh!  what  a  place  this  Rome  is!  What  follies, 
what  shame,  what  foolishness  of  fashions,  what  silly 
aping  of  the  rich  by  the  poor,  what  miserable  pre- 
tences of  being  poor  by  the  rich !  This  very  day  I 
saw  an  acquaintance — Mamurra  I  will  call  him — posing 
as  a  millionaire,  though  to  my  certain  knowledge,  he 
has  not  a  dozen  denarii  in  the  world.  First  he  had 
a  look  at  the  slaves,  not  the  common  things  that  you 
and  1  see,  but  delicate  creatures  that  you  could  not 
buy  under  a  hundred  sestertla  *  at  the  least.  "  Excel- 
lent" he  said,  when  he  had  priced  some  half  dozen, 
"but  when  I  come  to  think  of  it  my  household  is 
absolutely    filled    up." 

*  £  1,000. 


A    FASHIONABLE    POET.  287 

Then  he  strolled  off  to  the  upholsterer's.  There 
was  a  splendid  tortoise-shell  sofa.  Out  he  brings 
his  pocket  measure,  and  measures  it — actually  four 
times  if  you  will  believe  me — and  at  last  comes 
out  with,  "  Dear  me !  it  is  not  quite  large  enough 
for  my  citron  wood  table.  Only  half  a  foot  more 
and  it  would  have  been  a  perfect  match.  If  one 
just  a  little  larger  should  come  in  your  way,"  he 
said  to  the  shopman,  **give  me  the  refusal." — "It 
is  the  biggest  in  Rome,  Sir,"  said  the  man. — "You 
don't  say  so,"  replied  Mamurra.  "I  thought  the 
Emperor's  was  larger,  but  one  can't  measure  your  host's 
furniture " — just  as  if  he  had  ever  dined  at  the  Palace ! 

Next  came  the  turn  of  the  statues.  He  smelt 
them  ;  "  Hardly  true  Corinthian  "  he  muttered.  "  And 
this "  he  went  on,  "  seems  a  little  too  much  fore- 
shortened."— "It  is  a  genuine  Polycletus,"  said  the 
shopman. —  "You  don't  say  so"  answered  my  friend, 
"hardly  up  to  his  best  mark."  The  crystal  cups  did 
not  please  his  lordship  ;  they  were  a  little  speckled. 
"  I  must  be  cont-ent  with  porcelain, "  he  said.  "  Put 
these  ten  aside  for  me. "  The  man  stared  ;  they  were 
worth  about  a  hundred  sestertia  apiece,  and  it  is  a 
distinction  to  have  even  a  pair.  However  I  shall 
weary  you  wdth  his  follies.  Only  near  the  end,  just 
as  the  shops  were  going  to  shut,  he  bought  a  couple 
of  earthenware  mugs  for  a  penny,  and  carried  them 
home  himself. 


288  A   FASHIONABLE   POET.  ' 

To  tell  you  the  truth,  my  dear  Ulpius,  I  am  heartily 
sick  of  the  place.  I  shall  leave  it  and  go  back 
to  my  own  country.  You  smile:  I  hear  you  say : 
"  This  is  the  old  story.  I  have  heard  it  every  six 
months  for  the  last  twenty  years.  He  is  always 
coming ;  he  never  comes. "  You  are  right  to  laugh 
at  me  and  to  be  incredulous.  But,  nevertheless, 
this  time  I  mean  it.  I  do  love  the  country  at  the 
bottom  of  my  heart,  the  fields,  the  vineyards,  the 
woods,  and  mean  to  end  my  days  among  them.  In 
truth  I  am  too  old  for  Rome.  I  say  to  myself  as 
Diomed  said  to  Nestor,  "  Old  man,  the  younger  war- 
riors press  thee  sore."  tf  I  can  still  hold  my  own, 
it  costs  me  more  labour  than  it  did ;  and  I  am 
beginning  to  loathe  it  all,  the  posturing,  the  pretences, 
the  flattery,  the  lying.  There  is  another  thing  that 
will  drive  me  home,  my  losses,  not  of  money,  which, 
for  the  best  of  all  reasons  I  cannot  lose,  but  of 
those  whom  I  love.  My  last  loss  was  of  dear  little 
Erotion,  the  gayest,  sweetest  creature  that  ever  lived. 
Here  are  a  few  lines  that  I  have  written  about 
her: 

•  Dear  parents,  lend  your  kindly  aid 

To  sweet  Erotion's  tender  shade; 
Let  not  her  kindly  spirit  dread 

The  gloomy  paths  of  death  to  tread; 
Six  winters  o'er  her  head  had  passed, 

Six  and  no  more,  and  to  the  last 


A    FASHIONABLE    POET.  289 

Six  days  were  wanting.   Let  her  cheer 
Your  reverend  age  with  sportive  game, 

And  while  she  plays,  be  pleased  to  hear 
Her  lisping  tongue  repeat  my  name." 

Farewell. 

Martial  did  leave  Rome  finally  about  a  year  after 
the  accession  of  Trajan. 


xxxn. 

A  CRIMINAL  LAWYEB. 

AMOXG  those  who  profited  by  the  crimes  and  cruel- 
ties of  Nero's  later  days  was  a  certain  Aquilius 
Regulus.  If  he  belonged  to  the  house  whose  name 
he  bore,  *  he  must  have  been  of  good  family,  for 
the  Aquilii  could  boast  of  a  high  antiquity. 

He  had  undoubtedly,  as  we  shall  find,  respectable 
connections.  But  he  was  miserably  poor.  All  his  father's 
property  had  been  seized  for  the  benefit  of  creditors ; 
the  father  himself  had  been  banished.  But  the  young 
Regulus  had  the  gifts  and  qualities  which  help  men 
to  prosper  in  evil  times.  He  had  ready  speech  and 
courage,  and  he  was  not  hampered  by  principle.  He 
became,  as  we  should  phrase  it,  a  barrister  in  the 
criminal  courts.  The  profession  had  two  branches 
held  in  very   dilferent  esteem.     A  counsel  who  pro- 

*  This,  of  course,  is  uncertain.  A  freedman  took  the  family 
name  of  his  patron.  So  the  name  of  Cornelius,  once  one  of  the 
noblest  of  the  Rome,  became  vulgarised  by  the  vast  number  of 
persons  emancipiited  by  the  Dictator,  Cornelius  Sulla. 


1 


A    CRIMINAL    LAWYER.  29  i 

secutcd  was  looked  upon  askance ;  a  counsel  who 
defended,  was  respected.  Regulus  chose  the  more 
profitable  and  less  reputable.-  His  victims  were 
numerous,  and  his  profits  large.  He  accumulated  in 
the  course  of  two  or  three  years  a  fortune  of 
^^70,000.  His  Imperial  patron,  to  whom  he  is  said 
to  have  given  the  cynical  advice  to  include  the 
whole  Senate  under  one  indictment,  bestowed  on  him 
the   honour   of   one   of  the  great  priesthoods. 

Nero  fell,  and  the  position  of  the  man  who  had  been 
the  instrument  of  his  cruelty  became  precarious.  When 
Galba,  Nero's  successor,  adopted  as  his  own  heir 
a  Piso,  belonging  to  a  family  which  Regulus  had 
greatly  injured,  the  ex -informer  saw  that  he  was 
in  danger. 

Three  days  afterwards,  Piso  was  murdered  along 
with  his  adopting  father;  Regulus  is  said  to  have 
made  a  present  to  the  soldier  who  dealt  the  fatal 
blow,  and  even  to  have  indulged  in  the  brutality 
of  fastening  his  teeth  in  the  head  of  his  mur- 
dered enemy.  Before  many  months  he  was  called 
to  account  for  these  misdeeds.  Otho,  who  super- 
seded Galba,  and  Vitellius,  who  superseded  Otho, 
perished  in  the  course  of  a  few  months.  With 
Vespasian    a   better  order  of  things  was  established. 

The  punishment  of  those  who  had  made  a  profit  out 
of  the  reign  of  terror  was  loudly  demanded,  and 
Regulus    was    one   of   the    impeached.     He   found  a 


292  A    CRIMINAL    LAWYER. 

defender  in  his  half-brother  Vipsanius  Messalla,  a 
gallant  young  soldier  of  the  highest  character,  who 
had  taken  a  distinguished  part  in  the  campaign  which 
had  put  the  new  dynasty  on  the  throne.  Thanks 
partly  to  the  eloquence  of  his  advocate,  partly  to 
the  fact  that  men  too  powerful  to  be  overthrown 
were   equally    guilty  with  himself,  he  escaped. 

For  a  time  he  devoted  himself  to  the  lawful  exercise  of 
his  profession.  The  younger  Pliny,  who  hated  him,  bears 
a  not  very  willing  testimony  to  his  merits  as  an  advocate. 
"I  can't  say  that  I  regret  him,"  he  writes,  some  little 
time  after  Regulus's  death,  "  but  I  certainly  miss  him. " 
The  reason  was  that  Regulus  took  his  profession 
seriously.  He  was  really  anxious  about  the  cases 
he  undertook ;  he  laboured  at  them  even  to  the  extent 
of  injuring  his  health ;  he  did  not  grudge  the  trouble 
of  writing  out  his  speeches  and  this  though  his 
memory  was  so  bad  that  he  could  not  learn  them  by 
heart.  He  never  failed  to  consult  the  soothsayer 
about  any  important  cause.  *A  superstitious  prac- 
tice, doubtless, "  remarks  his  critic,  "  but  showing 
that    he    was    intensely    interested    in    his    work." 

Other  instances  that  Pliny  gives  of  the  pains  that 
the  man  took  about  his  work  are  hard  for  us  to 
understand.  That  an  advocate  would  use — even  hire, 
if  there  was  need — fine  rings  or  fashionable  clothes 
to  make  an  impression  on  his  judges,  we  can  under- 
stand.    But  why  he  should  paint  one  eye,  his  right,  if 


A   CRIMINAL    LAWYER.  293 

he  was  engaged  for  the  plaintiff,  his  left,  if  he  w^as 
pleading  for  the  defendant,  it  is  hard  even  to  guess. 
If  he  had  painted  both,  we  might  suppose  that 
he  meant  to  give  additional  expression  to  them. 
Equally  perplexing  is  the  white  patch  which  he  would 
transfer,  according  to  the  side  on  which  he  was 
engaged,  to  the  right  eyebrow  or  the  left.  Possibly  it 
was  a  superstitious  fancy.  Whatever  was  the  motive, 
such  care  showed  his  interest  in  his  profession,  an 
interest,  which,  Pliny  complains,  had  decreased  since 
his  death. 

It  was  customary  for  an  advocate  to  ask  the 
court  for  as  much  time  *  as  he  thought  he  might 
want  for  his  speech.  At  the  time  at  which  he 
was  writing  it  was  common  for  an  advocate  to 
be  content  with  little  more  than  half  an  hour,  some- 
times with  less  than  ten  minutes.  Regulus,  on  the 
contrary,  had  always  asked  for  a  very  large  allow- 
ance of  time,  with  the  result,  of  course,  that  a 
proportionate  amount  was  granted  to  his  opponents. 
It  had  also  been  his  practice  to  take  the  greatest 
pains  to  bring  together  a  good  audience,  f    "It  was 

*  Literally  as  many  clepsydrae  or  water-clocks.  A  very  large 
water-clock  ran  for  something  less  than  twenty  minutes.  Pliny 
tells  us  that  in  a  great  case  he  had  twelve  granted  to  him 
and  that  four  more  were  afterwards  added,  and  that  he  spoke 
for  nearly  live  hours. 

t  Advocates  used  all  kinds  of  ways  from  bribery  downwards, 
to  collect  hearers  for  their  speeches. 


294  A    CRIMINAL    LAWYER. 

pleasant,"  says  Pliny,  who  had  been  often  opposed 
to  him,  ^*  to  speak  as  long  as  you  like  without 
anyone  being  able  to  complain,  and  to  address  an 
audience  that  someone  else  had  collected  for  you. 
Still,"  he  goes  on,  "  Regulus  did  well  to  die;  only 
he  would  have  done  better  still  to  die  sooner." 

The  fact  is  that  under  Domitian  there  had  been  a  reign 
of  terror,  scarcely  less  frightful  than  that  under  Nero, 
and  that  Regulus  had  gone  back  to  his  old  practices, 
and  had  done  more  mischief  than  before,  though  not 
so  openly.  Pliny  tells  an  anecdote  which  shows 
what  pitfalls  were  in  the  paths  of  honest  men  in 
those  days.  He  was  acting  as  counsel  for  a  lady  of 
the  name  of  Arionilla,  and  had  occasion  to  quote  a 
dictum  of  one  Metius  Modestus,  an  eminent  lawyer 
who  had  been  banished  by  Domitian.  "  What  is 
your  opinion  of  Modestus  ?  "  interposed  Regulus.  It 
was  an  awkward  dilemma  for  Pliny.  It  would  have 
been  base  to  censure  and  dangerous  to  praise  his 
friend.  "  I  will  tell  you  when  the  question  comes 
before  the  court,"  he  replied;  an  answer  so  judicious 
that  afterwards  he  could  only  attribute  it  to  inspira- 
tion. 

The  question  was  repeated.  *  It  is  against  the 
accused  not  the  condemned  that  witnesses  are  called," 
was  the  second  reply.  Unwilling  to  be  baffled, 
Regulus  put  the  question  a  third  time  in  a  some- 
what   different   form.     "  Well,    what    do    you    think 


A   CRIMINAL    LAWYER.  295 

about  the  loyalty  of  Modestus  ? "  But  Pliny  was 
equal  to  it.  "For  my  part,"  he  said,  "I  do  not  think 
it  right  even  to  put  questions  about  convicted  per- 
sons ! " 

After  the  death  of  Domitian  Regulus  felt  himself 
again  to  be  in  danger.  Again  he  escaped.  What 
had  helped  him  before,  helped  him  again.  And  he 
was  wealthier  than  ever.  One  of  his  ways  of  enrich- 
ing himself  is  curiously  unlike  anything  in  modern 
manners.  Regulus  was  a  notorious  legacy  hunter. 
The  impudence  he  displayed  in  following  this  second 
profession^  as  it  may  be  called,  was  sublime.  His 
relations  with  Piso  have  been  mentioned;  yet  when 
Piso's  widow  was  dangerously  ill,  he  forced  him- 
self into  her  presence,  and  got  a  hearing  from  her 
by  pretending  a  knowledge  of  astrology.  He  asked 
her  on  what  day  and  at  what  hour  she  had  been 
born;  she  told  him;  after  going  through  a  show  of 
elaborate  calculation,  he  gravely  assured  her,  "You 
are  at  a  critical*  time;  but  you  will  escape;  still 
for  your  satisfaction  I  will  put  the  matter  before 
a  soothsayer  whom  I  am  in  the  habit  of  con- 
sulting." 

A  day  or  two  afterwards  he  informed  her  that  he  had 
done  so,  and  that  the  aspect  of  the  sacrifice  altogether 

*  Literally  *  Climacteric*  The  age  of  sixty-three  (9  X  7)  is 
called  the  grand  climacteric. 


296  A    CRIMINAL   LAWYER. 

confirmed  his  prognostication.  So  comforting  an  assur- 
ance demanded  reward,  and  Yerania,  w^ho  seems, 
by  the  way,  to  have  been  a  very  silly  woman,  put 
his  name  in  her  w^ill  for  a  legacy.  She  grew  worse 
however,  and  her  last  words  were  a  bitter  complaint 
of  the  cheat;  made  all  the  worse  by  the  fact  that 
the  lying  rascal  had  sworn  by  the  life  of  his  son. 
Of  course  he  was  not  always  so  successful.  All 
Rome  was  amused  to  find  that  a  rich  man  in  whose 
last  hours  he  had  shewn  an  indecent  interest  had 
left  him  nothing.  The  millionaire  had  made  a  new 
wilL  Till  it  was  signed,  Regulus  had  been  urgent 
with  the  doctors  to  do  their  very  best  to  prolong 
their  patient's  life.  After  it  had  been  executed  he  chang- 
ed his  note.  "  Why  do  you  prolong  the  poor  crea- 
ture's torture?"  was  his  cry.  The  testator  might 
have  been  thought  to  have  heard  him,  for  he  left 
him  nothing. 

But  the  man's  crowning  achievement  in  the  legacy- 
hunting  line  was  his  conduct  to  his  own  son.  Juvenal 
might  be  thought  to  have  indulged  in  an  exagger- 
ation past  all  belief  when  he  speaks  of  a  totter- 
ing father  paying  court  to  his  own  soldier  son  in 
the  hope  of  being  made  his  heir,  yet  what  Pliny 
tells  us  about  Eegulus  and  his  son  makes  it  credible. 
This  was  what  Regulus  did.  The  boy's  mother,  who 
had  an  independent  fortune,  was  afraid  to  make 
him    her    heir    as    lon.2:    as    he    was    in   his  father's 


A   CKIMINAL    LAWYER.  297 

power.  *  To  do  so  might  precipitate  Loth  her 
death  and  his.  Regulus  therefore  emancipated  him. 
The  son  inherited.  And  the  father  used  the  most 
unworthy  arts  to  secure  his  affection  and  his  for- 
tune! 

In  the  end  the  boy  died.  The  father  made  a  pre- 
posterous parade  of  his  sorrow.  The  lad  had  kept 
several  of  the  little  horses  from  Gaul  that  were 
fashionable  at  the  time,  a  number  of  dogs,  small 
and  great,  and  aviaries  full  of  nightingales,  parrots, 
and  blackbirds.  All  these  creatures  Regulus  caused 
to   be    destroyed   at   the   funeral  pile. 

He  had  the  idea  of  imitating  the  customs  of  the 
heroic  age,  possibly  the  slaughter  of  the  Trojan  captives 
at  the  burning  of  the  body  of  Patroclus.  He  gave  com- 
missions for  numerous  statues  and  portraits  of  the 
deceased.  Paintings  in  colour,  masks  in  wax,  stat- 
uettes in  gold,  silver,  bronze,  iron  and  marble  were 
to  be  seen  in  every  studio  in  the  city.  He  wrote 
a  biography— actually  a  biography  of  a  boy,  says 
Pliny,  to  whom  such  a  thing  was  an  absolute  no- 
velty—and read  it  aloud  to  a  vast  audience  which 
his  wealth  enabled  him  to  collect.  He  had  a  thou- 
sand copies  made,  and  scattered  them  broadcast 
through  Italy  with  a  request  to  the  local  authorities 


*  A  son,  till  emancipated  by  his  father,    had   no  independent 
position,  and  could  not  hold  property  of  his  own. 


298  A    CRIMINAL   LAWYER. 

of  the  towns  and  villages  that  the  best  reader  among 
them  would  recite  the  memoir. 

So  much  for  what  Pliny  has  to  say  of  our  "  criminal 
lawyer."  It  is  curious  to  see  what  a  very  different 
picture  the  court-poet  Martial  gives  of  him.  In  his  verse 
the  great  advocate  has  every  virtue  and  every  talent. 
If  he  wants  to  express  his  conviction  of  the  guilt 
of  a  criminal,  he  cannot  think  of  a  more  forcible 
way  of  stating  it  than  this — could  Cicero  be  called 
back  from  the  dead  or  Regulus  retained  among  the 
living,  the  eloquence  of  neither  could  avail.  He  was 
the  wisest,  the  most  devoted  to  duty,  and  the  ablest 
of  men,  and  beyond  all  question  the  special  care  of 
heaven,  this  last  being  proved,  the  poet  thinks,  by 
the  fact  that  the  colonnade  of  his  great  house  in  the 
suburbs  had  fallen  in  without  doing  him  any  harm. 
His  carriage  it  seems  had  just  passed  out  before  the 
catastrophe    took  place. 

But  Martial  is  enthusiastic  in  his  praise  of  the 
tyrant  Domitian,  a  creature  whom  the  most  zealous 
"  whitewasher  "  of  misunderstood  characters  in  his- 
tory has  not  attempted  to^  rehabilitate:  we  are 
inclined  to  take  his  good  opinion,  not  given,  it 
is  probable,  without  a  consideration,  as  of  very 
little  worth,  and  to  accept  in  preference  the  estimate 
of  another  contemporary,  Herennius  Senecio,  him- 
self one  of  the  victims  of  Domitian.  "  Regulus, " 
said  Senecio,    suggests  to  us  a  new  definition  of  an 


A    CRIMINAL    LAWYER.  299 

orator.  *    A    br.d    man   who    does   not  know  how  to 
speak.  * 

*  The  point  of  the  joke  is  the  parody  of  a  well  known  saying 
attributed  to  the  Elder  Cato.  "An  orator  is  a  good  man  who 
knows  how  to  speak." 


20 


xxxm. 

A  JUST  EMPEROR. 


Trajan. 

*  r^  REGORY,"  says  his  biographer,  John  the  Deacon, 
VX  "  walking  through  the  Forum  of  Trajan,  a  place 
which  that  Prince  had  adorned  with  very  noble 
buildings,  recollected  how  this  Trajan  had,  by  his 
just  dealing,  comforted  the  soul  of  a  certain  widow. 
As  he  was  hastening  with  all  speed  to  the  war — so 
the  story  runs — a  widow  cried  out  to  him  with  tears, 
*My  innocent  son  has  been  murdered,  and  that  since 


A   JUST    EMPEROR.  301 

you  came  to  be  Emperor.  I  beseech  you,  seeing 
that  you  cannot  bring  him  to  life^  to  avenge  his 
death.'  'I  will  do  so  to  the  utmost,'  said  he,  *if  I 
return  safe  from  the  war.'  'But,'  said  the  widow, 
*  if  you  should  fall  in  battle  who  will  do  me  justice  ? ' 
He  answered,  'My  successor.'  Said  the  widow,  'what 
will  it  profit  thee  if  another  do  this  good  deed?' 
'Verily  nothing,'  he  answered.  'Then,'  said  she,  'is 
it  not  better  for  thee,  thyself,  to  do  me  justice  and 
gain  thy  reward,  therefore,  than  to  pass  this  on  to 
another?'  Thereupon  Trajan  dismounted;  nor  did 
he  depart  till  he  had  tried  the  cause  of  the  widow, 
and  done  full  justice  therein.  Gregory,  therefore, 
remembering  how  righteous  this  said  Trajan  had 
been,  came  to  the  great  Church  of  St.  Peter,  and 
there  wept  so  sore  for  the  errors  of  this  most  mer- 
ciful prince  that,  on  the  following  night,  there  came 
to  him  this  answer :  "  Thou  hast  been  heard  for 
Trajan,  but  take  care  that  thou  pray  not  for  any 
other  pagan  soul. " 

The  good  John  is  somewhat  troubled  in  mind  by 
this  story.  Did  not  Gregory  himself  say  that  the 
children  of  God  may  not  pray  for  unbelievers  and 
wicked  men  that  have  departed  this  life  ?  His  doubts 
drive  him  into  sophistry.  Gregory,  he  says,  did  not 
pray  but  wept  only,  and  we  know  that  God  hears 
the  unspoken  desire  of  his  servants.  Nor  is  it  said 
that   Trajan's  soul  was  removed  to  Paradise.     That, 


302  A   JUST   EMPEROR. 

he  thinks,  would  be  incredible.  It  may  have  remained 
in  hell,  but  so  as  not  to  feel  the  torments  thereof. 
So  far  John  the  Deacon.  Dante  is  not  so  disturbed 
by  the  story.  He  boldly  places  the  Emperor  in  the 
sixth  heaven  among  the  spirits  of  the  just  made 
perfect. 

My  readers  will  agree  with  me  that  such  specu- 
lations do  not  concern  us :  for  us  the  interest  of  the 
story  lies  in  its  testimony  to  the  lasting  impression 
made  by  Trajan's  government  on  his  own  and  suc- 
ceeding generations.  He  was  regarded  as  emphatic- 
ally the  just  Emperor. 

M.  Ulpius  Trajanus  came  from  an  Italian  family, 
which  had  been  settled  some  time  in  Spain.  His 
father  had  been  Consul  and  Governor  of  the  Province 
of  Asia ;  *  he  himself  was  a  successful  soldier,  who 
had  been  rewarded  with  the  Consulship,  with  the 
government  of  a  province  in  Spain,  and  subsequently 
with  the  command  of  the  legions  that  guarded  the 
frontier  of  the  Lower  Rhine.  He  was  discharging 
the  duties  of  this  post  when  he  received  the  news 
that  Nerva,  who  two  years  before  had  been  raised 
to  the  throne,  vacated  by  the  assassination  of  Domi- 
tian,  had  associated  him  in  the  Empire.  He  made 
no  haste  to  enter  on  his  new  power.  He  remained 
on  the  frontier  for  a  year,  completing  its  defence 
by  establishing  colonies  and  military  posts,  and  com- 
,     *  The  north-western  portion  of  Asia-Minor. 


A   JUST   EMPEROR.  303 

mencing   the  gigantic  work  which  is  still  known  as 
« Trajan's  Wall." 

Towards  the  latter  end  of  98  he  returned  to  Rome. 
The  modesty  with  which  he  bore  himself  made  the 
most  favourable  impression  on  his  new  subjects. 
Nerva  had  been  now  dead  several  months,  and  Trajan 
was  therefore  sole  ruler,  but  his  self-restraint  and 
moderation  were  admirable.  The  Senate  desired  to 
greet  him  with  the  flattering  title  of  "  Father  of  the 
Country,"  borne  by  previous  Emperors.  He  declined 
to  receive  it  till  it  had  been  deserved.  He  entered 
the  city  on  foot,  and  without  an  escort,  conspicuous 
only,  says  the  younger  Pliny,  *  by  his  stately  height. 
All  Rome  rushed  out  to  see  the  new  ruler.  The  build- 
ings were  crowded,  almost  to  danger,  with  spectators ; 
not  a  place  where  even  the  most  precarious  foot- 
hold could  be  gained  was  empty.  The  streets  were 
so  full  that  only  the  narrowest  track  was  left  for 
the  Emperor.  And  as  all  came  to  see,  so  all  were 
charmed  with  what  they  saw.  The  Senators  were 
greeted  with  the  kiss  of  an  equal.  The  knights  were 
astonished  and  delighted  by  the  wonderful  memory 
which,    without    the    usual  help,  f  could  recall  their 

*  It  is  from  this  writer  that  we  get  most  of  our  facts  ahout 
the  earlier  years  of  Trajan's  reign. 

t  Commonly,  a  great  man  had  a  nomenclator  by  his  side 
whose  duty  it  was  to  whisper  into  his  master's  ear  the  names 
of  persons  who  greeted  liinL 


304  A   JUST    EMPEUOR. 

names.  The  commonalty  were  allowed  to  throng 
about  him  as  closely  as  they  would.  When  he  en- 
tered the  palace  he  did  so  with  as  little  pretension 
as  a  private  citizen  who  goes  into  his  own  house. 
The  general  satisfaction  was  complete  when  it  was 
seen  that  the  new  ruler's  wife  was  as  humble  as 
himself.  There  had  been  Empresses  who  had  been 
more  haughty  than  their  husbands.  Such  had  been 
the  Agrippina,  who  domineered  over  the  feeble  Clau- 
dius. Plotina  was  evidently  not  one  of  these.  At 
the  head  of  the  staircase  in  the  palace  Trajan  turned 
to  the  multitude  of  spectators  and  cried :  "  I  enter 
this  house  with  the  same  equanimity  with  which  I 
hope  to  quit  it,  should  fate  so  demand."  The  nobles 
who  had  felt  so  cruelly  the  suspicious  rage  of  Domi- 
tian  were  reassured  by  Trajan's  oath  that  he  would 
respect  the  life  of  a  senator.  The  turbulent  soldiery 
of  the  capital  were  overawed  by  his  firmness. 

New  emperors  had  been  accustomed  to  buy  their 
favour  by  a  handsome  present.  Trajan  did  not  abol- 
ish the  custom;  but  he  reduced  the  gift  by  a  half, 
and  the  Praetorians  received  his  bounty  without  a 
murmur.  Yet  he  was  content  to  demand  their  loyalty 
for  only  so  long  as  he  should  deserve  it.  The  Pre- 
fect pf  the  camp  was  accustomed  to  wear  a  poignard, 
which  he  received  from  the  emperor,  as  a  symbol  of  his 
power.  As  Trajan  handed  it  to  him,  he  said.  "  Use  this 
for  me  while  I  do  well;  use  it  against  me  if  I  do  ill." 


A    JUST    EMFEROR.  305 

The  new  Emperor  was  keenly  alive  to  the  wants 
of  his  people.  Italy,  nominally  the  mistress  of  the 
world,  had  been  growing  weaker  and  weaker,  its 
population  diminishing,  its  land  going  out  of  culti- 
vation. Trajan  tried  to  grapple  with  both  evils. 
Both,  it  is  true,  were  of  a  kind  with  which  it  was 
difficult  to  deal.  But  the  latter  may  have  been  in 
some  degree  touched  by  the  improvement  and  exten- 
sion of  communications  to  which  the  emperor  devoted 
much  care  and  expenditure.  And  if  he  could  not 
altogether  remedy  it,  he  could  at  least  provide  against 
its  most  dangerous  effects.  A  long  spell  of  adverse 
winds  might  bring  a  population  which  depended  for 
its  food  on  the  corn-fields  of  Egypt  and  Mauretania 
to  the  verge  of  famine.  Trajan  built  large  granaries 
which  were  to  contain  not  less  than  seven  years' 
supply  of  corn.  The  growth  of  population  he  sought 
to  encourage  by  establishing  foundations  for  the 
nurture  of  poor  and  orphan  children.  The  poverty 
of  the  Italian  population,  among  whom  free  labour 
was  largely  displaced  by  that  of  slaves,  had  encour- 
aged a  hideous  system  of  infanticide.  Trajan  sought 
to  put  it  down  by  what  may  be  called  a  *  bounty' 
on  children,  and  probably  met  with  some  success, 
as  his  foundation  continued  to  exist  for  more  than 
a  century,  when  it  was  confiscated  by  Pertinax. 

While  the  poor  were  thus  assisted,  the  owners 
of  property    obtained    some   relief   in  the  matter  of 


306  A    JUST    EMPEROR. 

taxation.  An  impost  which  seems  to  have  been 
regarded  as  especially  onerous  was  the  vicesima  or 
twentieth,  a  tax  on  succession  of  five  per  cent.  To 
us  indeed,  accustomed  to  a  legacy  duty  of  double 
the  amount,  when  property  descends  to  a  stranger, 
this  impost  does  not  seem  remarkably  grievous,  but 
Trajan  gained  great  credit  by  the  remission  which 
he  made  in  this  direction.  All  persons  succeeding 
to  an  inheritance  were  relieved  altogether  if  they 
were  related,  within  sufficiently  near  degrees,  to 
the  testator.  Where  the  property  left  was  small, 
it  was  in  all  cases  exempt. 

The  zeal  with  which  Trajan  provided  for  the 
amusements  of  his  subjects  aroused  their  gratitude, 
we  may  believe,  still  more  than  his  wise  provision 
for  their  welfare.  To  us  they  do  not  seem  so  admir- 
able. It  is  with  nothing  less  than  horror  that  we 
read  how  in  the  great  shows  which  he  exhibited  after 
his  Dacian  triumph,  five  thousand  pairs  of  gladiators 
fought  in  the  arena.  On  the  same  occasion  the  farces 
which,  probably  on  account  of  their  license,  he  had 
suppressed  at  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  were  again 
permitted.  The  extraordinary  industry  with  which 
Trajan  carried  on  the  administration  of  public  affairs  is 
sufficiently  illustrated  by  his  correspondence  with 
Pliny,  of  which  specimens  have  been  given.  If  the 
Emperor  did  as  much  for  other  provinces  as  he  did 
for  Bithynia,  performing  the  functions  of  a  Minister 


A   JUST    EMPEIIOR.  307 

of  Justice,  a  Home  Secretary,  and  a  President  of 
Board  of  Works,  and  we  know  not  of  what  officials 
besides,  his  capacity  for  business  must  have  been 
almost  supernatural.  We  wonder  whether  he  still 
carried  it  on  when  he  was  absent  with  the  army,  as 
he  was  for  a  considerable  part  of  his  reign.  Anyhow 
the  sound  sense  which  he  invariably  displays  in  his 
answers,  is  worthy  of  all  admiration. 

But  it  is  as  a  judge  that  Trajan  chiefly  interests 
us.  We  wish  that  we  knew  more  of  his  work  in 
this  capacity.  That  the  general  impression  of  his 
justice  was  strong  enough  to  give  rise  to  a  legend 
that  is  without  a  fellow  in  Christian  literature,  has 
been  already  said.  For  the  rest  we  must  be  content 
with  the  picture  that  Pliny  has  given  us  of  the 
way  in  which  the  Emperor  administered  justice  at 
his  sea-side  residence  of  Centum  Cellse,  now  ClvUa 
Vecchla.  *I  have  lately,"  he  writes,  "derived  the 
greatest  pleasure  from  having  been  summoned  by 
our  Emperor  to  act  as  his  assessor  at  Centum  Cella). 
What,  indeed,  could  be  more  delightful  than  to  have 
that  close  view,  for  which  retirement  gives  an  oppor- 
tunity, of  the  justice,  the  dignity,  the  courtesy  of 
our  prince.  There  were  many  causes  tried,  and  they 
were  such  as  to  give  by  their  variety  an  admirable 
proof  of  the  excellence  of  the  judge." 

A  wealthy  Ephesian  was  attacked  by  the  profes- 
sional informers,  probably  on  some  charge  of  treason. 


308  A   JUST    EMPEROB. 

He  was  promptly  acquitted.  An  ofFending  wife  was 
next  tried.  She  was  found  guilty,  though  her  husband 
had  condoned  her  offence,  and  was  mulcted  of  the  third 
part  of  her  dowry  and  banished  to  an  island.  Another 
case  was  a  somewhat  complicated  affair  of  a  will 
which  was  said  to  be  partly  forged.  One  of  the 
Emperor's  freedmen  was  involved  in  it,  and  some 
of  the  plaintiffs  were  disposed,  on  that  account,  to 
let  the  case  fall  through.  Trajan  would  suffer  nothing 
of  the  kind.  "He  is  no  Polycletus,"  he  said,  "and 
I  no  Nero."  *  On  this  the  plaintiffs  were  perempto- 
rily ordered  to  proceed. 

Of  the  merits  and  the  issue  of  the  case  we 
know  nothing.  "  You  see, "  says  Pliny,  after  giving 
some  details  about  the  causes  tried,  "  how  honour- 
able, how  strict,  was  the  employment  of  our  days. 
The  relaxation  that  followed  them  was  most  de- 
lightful. We  were  daily  invited  to  dinner.  The 
entertainment  was  most  modest,  considering  that 
it  was  an  Emperor's  table.  Sometimes  we  heard 
recitations,  and  sometimes  the  night  was  spent  in 
most  delightful  discourse.  On  the  last  day,  when  we 
were  leaving,  Caosar,  so  careful  is  his  kindness,  sent 
us  all  presents." 

There  is,  I  know,  a  dark  side  to  Trajan's  character. 
Perhaps  we  may  set  aside  the  grievous  charges  which 

*  The  infamous  exactions  of  Polycletus  had  been  excused  and 
screened  by  his  master. 


A   JUST    EMPEPtOR.  309 

Dio  Cassius,  a  pessimistic  writer,  brings  against  his 
morality.  Pliny  speaks  most  emphatically  of  the 
purity  of  his  life,  and  Pliny,  though  a  courtier,  would 
not,  I  think,  have  condescended  to  lie.  But  that 
Trajan  was  a  persecutor  cannot  be  doubted.  Nero 
had  made  the  Christians  the  screen  of  his  own  crimes, 
and  Domitian,  when  his  frantic  jealousy  drove  him 
to  destroy  his  cousin,  Flavins  Clemens,  had  made  the 
accused  man's  religion  his  pretext.  But  Trajan,  the 
vigorous,  justice-loving  Emperor,  was  the  first  to 
institute  a  formal  persecution  of  the  Christian  faith. 
It  was  always  so ;  the  vigorous  Emperors  showed 
themselves  actively  hostile  to  what  the  weak  and 
the  profligate  indolently  tolerated.  They  saw,  and 
rightly  saw,  that  the  Empire  and  this  new  doctrine 
could  not  stand  together;  and  we  can  hardly  blame 
them  if  they  chose  the  side  to  which  all  their  con- 
victions inclined  them.  Trajan,  whatever  his  ignorance, 
and,  it  may  be,  his  faults,  remains  a  noble  figure,  a 
strong  ruler,  whose  aim  was  justice.  It  was  the 
significant  formula,  repeated  after  his  time,  to  every 
new  successor  to  the  throne  of  the  Caesars:  "May 
you  be  more  fortunate  than  Augustus,  and  better 
than  Trajan!' 


XXXIV. 

A  GREAT  snow, 

A.D.,    105. 

HIPPONAX    OP    COLONUS,     IN    ROME,     TO   HIS    COUSIN   AND 
FELLOW-TOWNSMAN    CALLIAS, — GREETING. 

I  HAVE  been  greatly  at  a  loss,  my  dearest  Callias, 
ever  since  I  came  to  this  city,  whether  I  should 
rather  admire  or  loathe  these  Romans.  It  must  be 
confessed  that  at  this  moment,  when  I  recall  to  my 
mind  the  things  of  which  I  was  yesterday  a  spec- 
tator, I  incline  rather  to  hatred  than  love.  How 
brutal  they  are! — how  cruel! — how  they  delight  in 
unmeaning  show  and  extravagance! — with  what  a 
thirst  for  blood  are  they  possessed,  keener  than 
that  of  the  most  savage  wild  beasts,  keener,  I  say, 
for  beasts  are  content  when  their  hunger  is  appeased, 
but  the  appetite  of  these  barbarians  (for  barbarians 
they  are,  notwithstanding  all  their  wealth  and  luxury) 
can  never  be  satisfied. 

Yet  when    I   see  with  what  unwearying  diligence, 


A   GREAT    SHOW.  311 

with  what  infinite  labour,  they  prepare  even  their 
pleasures,  I  am  beyond  measure  astonished.  For  yester- 
day's entertainment  they  had  ransacked  the  whole 
earth;  nor  could  a  spectator,  however  hosti] e,  forget 
that  though  they  are  vulgar  in  taste  and  savage  in 
temper,  they  have  conquered  the  world.  But  let  me 
relate  to  you  in  order  the  things  that  I  saw. 

Trajan  the  Emperor — who,  by  the  way,  both  in 
his  virtues  and  vices  is  a  Roman  of  the  Romans — 
having  added  seven  new  provinces  to  the  Empire, 
resolved  to  exhibit  to  the  people  such  a  show  as 
had  never  been  before  seen  in  Rome;  and  it  is 
confessed  by  all  that  he  has  attained  his  ambition. 
The  day  before  yesterday,  my  host,  whose  office 
imposes  upon  him  part  of  the  care  of  these  matters, 
took  me  to  the  public  supper  at  which  the  gladiators 
who  were  to  fight  on  the  morrow  took  leave  of 
their  friends  and  kinsfolk.  The  tables  were  spread 
in  the  circus  itself;  and  there  were  present,  I  should 
suppose,  not  less  than  two  hundred  guests  (so  many 
gladiators  being  about  to  fight  on  the  morrow)  for 
whom  most  bountiful  provision  of  the  richest  food 
and  the  most  generous  wines  had  been  made.  They 
were  of  all  nations ;  but  chiefly,  as  I  was  told,  from 
Gaul  and  Thrace.  From  Greece  it  rejoices  me  to 
say,  there  were  but  very  few,  and  most  of  these 
Arcadians,  who,  now  that  the  Romans  have  established 
peace  over  all  the  world,  are  compelled  to   hire  out 


312  A   GREAT    snow. 

their  swords,  not  for  honorable  warfare,  but  for 
baser  strifes. 

Most  of  the  guests,  were,  I  thought,  intent  oiily 
on  indulging  in  as  much  pleasure  as  the  time  per- 
mitted, and  ate  and  drank  ravenously.  These,  I 
observed,  boasted  loudly  of  what  they  would  do  on 
the  morrow;  the  few  that  were  more  moderate  in 
their  enjoyment  were  also  more  modest. 

There  were  not  wanting  sights  that  touched  the 
heart.  One  such  I  noticed  the  more  particularly 
because  my  host  was  in  a  way  concerned  in  it. 
For  the  most  part  the  gladiators  are  slaves;  but  it 
sometimes  happens  that  a  citizen  will  bind  himself 
for  a  term  of  years  to  the  master  of  the  "  school ", 
for  this  is  the  name  by  which  they  call  these  estab- 
lishments, receiving  in  return  a  considerable  sum  of 
money.  Such  a  gladiator  may  have  slaves  of  his 
own,  if  he  is  able  to  purchase  them — a  thing  not 
impossible,  seeing  that  successful  athletes  often  receive 
no  inconsiderable  gifts  from  the  young  nobles  and 
others  who  win  money  by  wagering  on  their  suc- 
cess. As  we  were  walking  among  the  tables,  a  certain 
Tubero  plucked  my  host  by  the  gown,  and  begged 
him  to  stay  awhile. 

"  Ha !  comrade, "  said  my  host — I  should  have  told 
you  he  is  a  Fabius  and  belongs  therefore  to  one  of 
the  very  noblest  families  of  Rome — "What  can  I  do 
for   you?     I   hope  that  all  is  prosperous  with  you." 


A   GREAT    SHOW.  313 

The  gladiator,  I  could  see,  was  profoundly  grati- 
fied by  my  host's  kindly  salutation.  He  had  served 
under  Fabius  in  Britain,  but  hardly  expected  to  be 
so  remembered,  for  a  citizen  who  thus  sells  his  free- 
dom   is    held  to   have    somewhat    demeaned  himself. 

*Ihad  no  reason  to  complain,  most  noble  Fabius," 
he  replied.  "To-morrow  I  fight  for  the  last  time;  if 
Fortune  favours  me,  I  shall  be  entitled  to  my  dis- 
charge. But  who  can  tell  what  may  happen?  A  slip 
in  the  sand  and  it  will  be  all  over  with  me.  I  would 
therefore,  while  I  have  time,  discharge  a  duty  which 
it  would  trouble  me  much  to  leave  undone.  You 
see,  noble  sir,  this  worthy  man  here  ? ' 

He  pointed  to  a  man  of  about  sixty  years,  a  Syrian, 
I  should  judge,  from  his  complexion  and  eyes,  who 
was  standing  by  weeping  unrestrainedly. 

"  Will  you  then  condescend  to  be  a  witness  while 
I  set  this  man  free  ? " 

At  these  words  the  Syrian  broke  forth  into  tears 
more  vehemently  than  ever.  "I  will  not  suffer  it," 
he  cried.  "  'Tis  of  the  very  worst  omen  that  a 
gladiator  should  do  such  a  thing.  He  might  as  well 
order  the  pinewood,  the  oil  and  the  spices  for  his 
funeral. " 

"Be  silent,"  said  the  gladiator  with  a  certain  not 
unkindly  imperiousness.  "  Shall  I  not  do  as  I  will 
with  mine  own?  If  to-morrow — ' 

At  this  the  Syrian  clapped  his  hand  on  the  speak- 


314  A   GREAT   SHOW, 

er's  mouth  with  a  cry,  "  good  words,  good  words, 
master. " 

"  Well ! "  said  Tubero,  smiling,  "  If  anything  should 
happen  to  me  to  morrow,  how  will  yoa  fare,  being 
still  a  slave?  Say,  if  I  had  not  bought  you,  three 
years  since,  when  your  old  master  of  the  cookshop 
sold  you  as  being  quite  worn-out,  would  you  not 
have  starved  ?  '  Tis  not  everyone,  my  masters,  "  he 
went  on,  turning  to  us,  "  that  knows  this  Dromio. 
He  is  the  most  faithful  of  men,  cares  more  for  his 
master's  interests  than  his  own,  and  makes,  withal, 
the  most  incomparable  sausage-rolls !  Nay,  Dromio, 
you  shall  be  free,  whether  you  will  or  not.  If  all 
goes  well,  you  shall  not  leave  me — no,  no,  for  I  like 
your  rolls  too  well— if  otherwise,  then  there  is  a 
legacy  of  fifty  thousand  sestercil,  with  which  you  can 
set  up  a  cookshop  of  your  own." 

So  you  see  there  is  humanity  even  in  a  Roman, 
and  that  Roman  a  gladiator.  You  will  be  glad  to  be 
told  that  Tubero  escaped  unhurt;  he  came  to  pay 
his  respects  to  Fabius  at  the  morning  levee  on  the 
day  after  the  show. 

And  now,  lest  my  letter  be  of  so  great  a  length 
as  even  to  tire  your  friendly  patience,  I  must  pass 
on  without  further  delay  to  speak  of  the  show 
itself. 

Happily  the  day  was  fine,  for  though  the  awn- 
ings which  are  stretched  over  the  amphitheatre  suffice 


A    GREAT    SHOW.  315 

to  keep  the  sunshine  off  the  spectators,  they  are  but 
an  indifferent  shelter  against  rain,  if  it  be  more  than 
a  passing  shower.  Heavy  rain  on  the  day  of  the 
Show  is  indeed  a  serious  calamity,  and  to  none  more 
so  than  to  the  unfortunate  men  who  are  compelled  to 
exhibit  themselves  for  the  amusement  of  the  people. 
For  this  same  people  is  on  such  occasions  greatly 
out  of  humour,  and  it  goes  hard  with  any  performer 
who  may  seem  to  bear  himself  with  any  lack  of 
skill  or  courage. 

The  day  began  with  an  exhibition  of  wild  beasts. 
In  the  magnitude  of  his  preparations  for  this  part  of 
the  entertainment  the  Emperor  has  surpassed,  I  am 
told,  all  his  predecessors.  My  host  told  me  last 
night  that  when  Titus  opened  the  new  amphitheatre 
which  he  had  built,  five  thousand  wild  animals  and 
nearly  as  many  tame  were  slain,  but  that  Trajan 
had  prepared  nearly  half  as  many  again,  of  which, 
it  is  probable,  but  few  will  remain  alive  when  the 
Show  shall  be  at  last  brought  to  an  end. 

For  a  time  I  saw  nothing  that  was  distasteful, 
and  much  that  was  curious  and  interesting.  Strange 
creatures,  of  which  I  had  read  only  in  the  pages  of 
Aristotle,  and  which  I  did  not  suppose  could  be  seen 
out  of  their  native  deserts,  were  brought  into  the 
arena,  and,  wonderful  to  say  did  not  seem  unknown 
to  the  spectators.  A  beast  that  they  call  the  camel- 
opard  was  one  of  these— it  is  something  the  shape 
21 


316  A   GREAT    snow. 


I 


of  a  camel  with  the  spots  of  a  leopard,  only  that 
the  neck  is  longer,  and  the  back  without  a  hump, 
which,  indeed,  so  does  it  slope  from  the  forelegs  to 
the  hinder,  would  certainly  be  convenient  for  any 
that  desired  to  ride  it.  I  saw  also  a  monstrous 
creature  that  they  call  a  river-horse,  why  I  know 
not,  for  it  is  the  clumsiest  of  all  animals,  when  seen 
on  land  at  least,  for  it  is  its  nature  to  dwell  mostly 
in  the  water.  Of  strange  birds  there  was  one  that 
I  noticed  particularly  as  overtopping  a  man  in  stat- 
ure. It  is  by  nature  white,  but  these  Romans,  who 
are,  indeed,  somewhat  wanting  in  taste,  had  colour- 
ed it,  in  part,  with  vermilion.  Pheasants  from  the 
land  of  the  Golden  Fleece— and  some  of  them  seemed 
to  shine  with  this  metal — and  flamingoes,  of  a  most 
brilliant  crimson,  were  also  much  to  be  admired. 
The  tameness  of  many  of  these  creatures  was  indeed 
wonderful.  We  saw  not  indeed  those  performing 
elephants  of  which  I  was  told  stories  that  seemed 
past  belief,  how,  for  instance,  four  would  walk  up 
ropes  carrying  between  them  a  litter  in  which  reposed 
a  fifth  figuring  to  be  a  sick  comrade.  But  I  saw  many 
curious  sights,  such  as  a  great  ape  that  behaved 
itself  marvellously  lij^e  a  man,  now  dancing  in  ar- 
mour, now  fencing  with  its  master,  lions  that  pur- 
sued and  caught  hares  without  harming  them,  dogs 
that  imitated  the  movements  of  a  company  of  sol- 
diers,   and    other    things   which  it  would  weary  you 


A    GREAT    SHOW.  317 

to  read  of,  for  it  is  only  in  the  sight  that  these  things 
are  really  interesting. 

So  far  then,  as  I  have  said,  I  was  delighted  with 
what  I  beheld,  and  marvelled  much  at  the  pains  that 
had  been  bestowed  on  the  training  and  teaching  of 
these  creatures.  That  which  followed  was  to  me  less 
pleasing,  but  to  the  greater  part  of  the  spectators 
far  more  so.  For  now  began  the  combats  between 
men  and  the  more  savage  and  strong  of  the  wild 
creatures  that  had  been  thus  gathered  together.  If 
a  man  of  his  own  free  will  risks  his  life  against  some 
beast  in  the  forest,  I  find  no  fault  with  him;  nay 
I  acknowledge  that  there  is  a  pleasure  in  such  en- 
counters, and  that  the  young  may  be  profitably  trained 
thereby  to  do  battle  with  the  enemies  of  their  country. 

Do  you  not  remember,  my  dear  Callias,  an  ad- 
venture with  that  wild  boar  in  the  forest  of  Tegea, 
and  that  it  was  made  far  more  delightful  than  our 
customary  pursuit  of  hares  and  the  like,  by  the 
admixture  of  a  certain  spice  of  danger?  But  that  the 
two  should  be  brought  together  against  nature,  the 
wild  beast  taken  from  his  haunts,  and  losing  thereby, 
I  doubt  not,  something  of  his  proper  strength  and 
cunning,  the  man,  not  moved  by  the  spirit  of  adven- 
ture and  the  love  of  sport,  but  bought  by  money — 
this  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  thing  not  at  all  to  be 
admired.  Yet  I  will  confess,  there  is  a  certain  fas- 
cination   in  the  fight,  for  it  was  not  possible  not  to 


318  A   GKEAT    snow. 

admire  the  grace  and  strength  of  these  creatures  of 
the  woods  and  mountains,  and  the  boldness  and 
dexterity  of  the  men  that  contended  with  them.  But 
when  the  conflicts  were  ended,  resulting,  for  the  most 
part,  in  the  victory  of  the  human  combatants,  there 
followed  a  spectacle  which  was  to  me  most  revolting, 
for  now  unarmed  men  were  exposed  to  the  fury  of 
bears,  lions  and  tigers.  It  was  true  that,  as  my 
neighbours  informed  me,  these  men  deserved  to  die, 
for  they  were  murderers,  robbers,  forgers  of  wills 
and  the  like  (of  the  guilt  of  some  I  doubted,  for  they 
had  not  committed,  so  far  as  I  could  learn,  any  worse 
offence  than  running  away  from  cruel  masters — and 
how  cruel  a  Roman  master  may  be,  you,  my  Callias, 
can  hardly  know).  But  to  see  them  die  in  this  fashion 
was  something  horrible. 

As  for  the  spectators  they  were  moved  by  the  love 
of  blood  rather  than  by  the  love  of  justice.  From 
this  spectacle,  which  indeed  lasted  but  for  a  short 
time,  the  number  of  the  criminals  that  were  so  to 
die  being  small,  I  turned  away,  hiding  my  face  with 
my  hands.  When  there  was  a  great  silence  on  the 
assembly,  coming  after  a  great  shouting  and  yelling, 
I  looked  up  and  saw  a  most  marvellous  thing.  The 
whole  arena  was  empty,  save  for  a  single  animal,  a 
bear,  that  was  sitting  not  far,  as  it  chanced,  from 
the  place  where  I  myself  was  situated.  Then,  at  a 
signal   from  the  Emperor,  there  was  opened  a  door. 


A   GREAT    SHOW.  319 

from  which  issued  an  old  man,  of  singularly  venerable 
aspect,  who  walked  towards  the  creature,  showing 
no  sign  of  fear  in  his  gait  or  countenance,  for  he 
was  so  near  that  I  could  observe  him  closely.  "  Who 
is  he?  "  I  enquired  of  my  neighbour.  *  Is  he  also  a 
criminal?"  ''Yes,"  said  the  man,  and  of  the  very 
worst  kind."  "Then,"  cried  I,  "do  his  looks  most 
strangely  belie  his  nature,  for  a  face  more  benevolent 
and  virtuous  I  have  never  seen. "  "I  say  not. ' 
replied  my  neighbour  "  that  he  has  done  murder  or 
theft;  but  he  is  a  Christian."  "A  Christian?"  said 
I,  "what  is  that?"  "One,"  my  neighbour  answered, 
"  that  will  not  worship  the  gods,  believing  only  in  one 
Christus,  whom  Pilate  the  Procurator  crucified  some 
seventy  years  since,  but  whom  those  who  call 
themselves  by  his  name  affirm  to  be  alive." 

This  was  not  a  little  perplexing  tome.  "I  see  not 
the  heinous  guilt  of  so  affirming,"  I  said,  "  but  tell  me, 
is  this  all  that  is  alleged  against  this  man? "  "  Many 
things  are  alleged,"  answered  my  informant,  ^but 
nothing  is  proved.  Yet  he  deserves  to  die,  if  only 
for  his  incredible  and  intolerable  obstinacy.  Can  you 
believe  that  this  fellow  is  willing  to  be  destroyed  by 
the  bear  yonder,  rather  than  burn  a  grain  of  incense 
in  honour  of  our  gracious  Emperor?  Yet  such  is 
the  truth ;  a  man  may  believe  what  folly  he  pleases  but 
he  must  obey;  and  verily  a  rebel  that  is  of  blame- 
less   life    may  do   more  harm  than  a  hundred  male- 


320  A   GEEAT    SHOW. 

factors."  But  now  happened  the  marvel  of  the  thing. 
The  bear  rose  from  its  place,  and  approached  the 
man,  but  when  we  looked  to  see  it  tear  him,  it  hurt 
him  not,  but  fawned  upon  him,  rubbing  itself  against 
his  legs,  as  though  it  were  some  great  cat.  When 
this  had  lasted  some  time,  the  people  growing  im- 
patient, the  master  of  the  Show  cried  out,  "  Let  go 
the  lion!"  Hereupon  the  door  of  a  cage  that  was 
under  the  Emperor's  seat  was  thrown  open,  and  a 
great  lion  rushed  forth.  He  bounded  up  to  the 
old  man  with  great  strides,  but  when  he  reached 
him  seemed  to  drop  all  his  fierceness. 

On  this  there  was  a  great  shout  of "  Pardon !  Pardon ! " 
and  the  Emperor,  who  likes  not  to  refuse  any  request 
of  the  people  on  these  occasions,  except  for  the  very 
gravest  reasons,  gave  the  signal  that  the  man  should 
be  led  away.  What  think  you  of  this,  my  Callias  ? 
According  to  your  philosophy,  which  is  taken,  I 
know,  from  the  sages  of  the  Garden  of  Epicurus, 
the  gods  exist  indeed,  but  take  no  care  in  human 
affairs.  Yet  how  was  this  man  protected  when  none 
other  escaped  ?  You  will  say,  the  beasts  were  well 
satisfied  with  food  already.  Nay,  but  it  was  not  so,  for 
on  this  point  I  made  enquiry.  Possibly  it  was  some 
magical  power  that  the  man  had.  I  will  not  fail  to 
see  him,  for  he  has  been  released,  I  am  told,  and  I 
will  ask  him. 

This  part  of  the  entertainment  being  finished,  the 


A  GREAT  snow.  321 

bodies  of  the  slain  animals  being  dragged  away,  and 
fresh  sand  being  strewn  over  the  whole  place,  there 
fell  upon  the  whole  assembly  a  hush  which  was  yet 
full,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  of  an  intense  expectation; 
for  now  was  to  come  the  sight  that  goes  to  the 
inmost  heart  of  these  savages — men  fighting  with 
men. 

It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  it  was  a  splendid  sight 
when  a  hundred  of  the  gladiators  who  were  to  play 
the  "  first  act, "  so  to  speak  (they  were  a  mere  frac- 
tion of  all  the  performers  to  be  exhibited),  came 
marching  in  two  by  two.  They  were  armed  mostly 
as  soldiers  but  with  more  of  ornament  and  with 
greater  splendor.  Their  helmets  were  of  various 
shapes,  but  each  had  a  broad  brim  and  a  visor  con- 
sisting of  four  plates,  the  upper  two  being  pierced 
to  allow  the  wearer  to  see  through  them.  On  the 
top  also  there  was  what  one  might  liken  to  the  comb 
of  a  cock,  and  fastened  to  this,  a  plume  of  horse- 
hair dyed  crimson  or  of  crimson  feathers. 

Some  were  called  "  Samnites"  (the  name  of  an  Italian 
tribe  that  once  nearly  brought  Rome  to  her  knees). 
These  carried  a  short  sword  and  large  oblong  shield. 
Others,  were  armed  as  Thracians,  or  as  Greeks.  Others, 
again,  were  distinguished  by  the  symbol  of  a  fish 
upon  their  helmets.  But  the  most  curious  of  all 
were  those  called  "net-men,"  who  were  equipped 
with    a   net   with   which  to  entangle  an  antagonist; 


322  A   GREAT    SHOW. 

having  so  disabled  him,  the  "net-man"  stabs  him 
with  a  three-pronged  harpoon.  These  have  no  hel- 
mets, and  are  equipped  as  lightly  as  possible,  for  if 
they  miss  their  cast  they  have  no  hope  of  safety 
but  in  their  fleetness  of  foot. 

You  will  not  think  the  worse  of  me,  my  dear  Callias, 
if  I  acknowledge  that  I  cannot  describe  this  part  of  the 
spectacle.  The  truth  is  that  after  a  certain  dreadful  fas- 
cination, which  held  me,  while  the  first  strokes  were 
given,  I  turned  away  my  eyes.  Indeed  had  I  continued 
to  look,  undoubtedly  I  should  have  fainted.  But  I  could 
but  observe  that  the  young  Fabia,  my  host's  daugh- 
ter, a  girl  of  about  seventeen,  had  no  such  qualms, 
for  she  gazed  steadfastly  into  the  arena  the  whole 
time,  and  her  face  (for  I  looked  at  her  more  than 
once)  was  flushed,  and  her  eyes  sparkled  with  a 
most  inhuman  light. 

Till  yesterday  I  had  thought  her  the  fairest  maiden 
I  had  seen;  but  now  the  very  girdle  of  Aphrodite 
could  not  make  her  beautiful  in  my  eyes.  Can  you 
believe,  my  Callias,  that  this  young  girl,  who  a  week 
ago  was  weeping  inconsolably  over  a  dead  sparrow, 
cried  aloud,  "he  has  it!"  when  some  poor  wretch 
received  the  decisive  blow ;  aye,  and  when,  not  being 
wounded  mortally,  he  appealed  for  mercy,  that  she 
made  the  sign  of  death  holding  forth  her  hand  as  if 
in  the  act  to  strike?  Verily  they  have  the  wolfs 
blood    in   their   veins,    these  Romans,  both  men  and 


A    GREAT    SHOW.  323 

women!  But  what  will  you  say  when  I  relate  to 
you  my  last  experiences? 

Hearing  my  neighbour  say  the  spectacle  was 
over  for  the  day,  I  ventured  to  look  up;  and 
what  think  you  did  I  see  ? — Some  sixty  bodies  lay 
on  the  sand,  and  there  came  out  the  figure  of 
one  dressed  as  Charon,  the  ferryman  of  Styx,  who 
examined  the  prostrate  forms  to  try  if  there  was 
life  in  them.  Finding  that  none  were  alive,  he 
returned  to  the  place  whence  he  came^  and  there 
followed  him  presently  another  person,  this  one 
habited  as  Hermes,  bearing  in  his  hand  the  rod 
wherewith  the  messenger  of  the  gods  is  said  to 
marshal  the  spirits  of  the  dead  when  they  go  down 
to  the  shades.  At  his  bidding  some  attendants 
removed  the  poor  victims.  This  done,  fresh  sand 
was  strewn  over  such  places  as  showed  of  conflict, 
and  thus  was  finished  the  first  day  of  the  Great 
Show,  wherewith  Trajan  is  to  please  the  gods  and 
the  Roman  people. 

It  will  be  continued  for  many  days;  how  many,  I 
neither  know  nor  care,  for  I  go  not  again.  Next  year 
I  hope  to  see  among  the  palms  and  olives  of  Olym- 
pia  the  bloodless  sports  which  please  a  kindlier, 
gentler  race  of  gods  and  men.     Farewell. 


XXXV. 

A  ROMAN  AT  ATHENS. 

MARCUS   TO    HIS   BROTHER   QUINTUS,    GREETING.  * 

COULD  I  transport  you,  my  dearest  Quintus,  to  this 
place,  and  introduce  you  to  even  a  part  of  the 
delights  which  it  ministers  to  those  who  frequent  it, 
you  would  certainly  repent  that  you  have  chosen 
to  stay  in  Rome,  and  have  preferred  the  Forum  and 
the  Court  of  the  Hundred  f  to  the  Areopagus  and 
the  Schools  of  the  Philosophers. 

Doubtless  when  I  shall  return,  my  studies  finished, 

*  This  would  be  the  customary  form  of  a  letter  from  one 
brother  to  another.  It  is  to  be  seen  in  the  letters  from  Cicero 
to  his  younger  brother  Quintus.  So  an  English  lad  writing  to 
his  brother  would  address  him  by  his  Christian  name  only,  and 
very  probably,  sign  himself  in  the  same  way.  The  full  name 
of  the  writer  may  be  supposed  to  be  Marcus  Aufidius  Fronto, 
grandson  of  the  celebrated  orator  Fronto,  and  himself  Consul, 
A.  D.  199.    The  date  of  the  letter  may  be  taken  as  175  A.  D. 

t  A  Court  of  Justice  in  Rome,  possessing  jurisdiction  in  civil 
matters  that  concerned  property. 


A   ROMAN    AT    ATHENS.  325 

I  shall  find  that  you  have  outstripped  me  in  the 
race  for  wealth  and  honour,  yet  I  would  not  exchange 
for  these  advantages  the  manifold  goods  both  of  mind 
and  body  with  which  Athens  supplies  her  adopted 
children.  It  must  be  confessed  indeed  that,  for  the 
most  part,  our  countrymen  are  of  your  opinion. 
There  are  but  few  Romans  or  Italians  in  the  city, 
scarcely  more  than  might  be  counted  on  the  fingers 
of  one  hand.  I  suppose  that  it  is  our  national  tem- 
per to  desire  the  shortest  way  towards  the  things 
that  seem  desirable,  and  that  such  a  way  is  not 
furnished  by  philosophy  is  manifest.  But  enough  of 
this  matter,  which  we  have  already  discussed  suf- 
ficiently at  other  times. 

Let  me  recount  some  of  the  things  which  I  have 
seen  or  heard.  Know  then,  in  the  first  place,  that 
I  reached  this  place  on  the  Kalends  of  October,  hav- 
ing had  a  more  prosperous  voyage  than  I  could 
have  expected  considering  the  lateness  of  the  season. 
I  was  almost  the  last  comer  of  those  who  intended 
to  "study  during  the  year  then  about  to  begin.  (Here, 
I  should  say,  the  year  for  civil  matters  commences 
with  the  autumn  equinox,  and  for  matters  academi- 
cal some  ten  days  later,  or,  according  to  our  reckon- 
ing, on  the  !Nones  of  October,  or  thereabouts,  for 
the  day  is  not  absolutely  fixed).  The  time  between 
the  day  of  my  arrival  and  this  same  commencement 
was  fully   occupied  with  various  preparations. 


326  A    ROMAN    AT    ATHENS. 

First  T  provided  myself  with  a  convenient  lodging  in 
the  house  of  a  certain  Meniscus,  a  worthy  man  who 
makes  his  livelihood  by  copying  books  and  by  giving 
instruction  to  youths  that  are  backward  in  their 
studies.  I  pay  him  500  sesterces  by  the  month  and 
have  no  reason  to  complain  of  the  liberality  of  his 
table.  My  wine  I  purchase  for  myself,  not  having 
a  taste  for  the  thin  vintage  which,  according  to  our 
bargain,  he  supplies.  It  comes,  he  tells  me^  from 
Hymettus,  but  that  mountain  must  keep,  I  think, 
all    its    sweetness  for  its  honey. 

I  had  to  purchase  a  gown,  for  all  that  are  devoted  to 
study  wear  a  peculiar  dress.  This  gown  is  white,  and 
of  a  shape  not  unlike  to  our  own  toga.  Not  many  years 
ago  the  colour  was  black,  but  a  certain  Herodes,  of 
whom  I  shall  have  more  to  say  hereafter,  caused  that 
it  should  be  changed,  providing  a  sum  of  money  for 
that  purpose.  I  myself  am  a  sharer  in  this  liber- 
ality, for  thanks  to  the  endowment  furnished  by  him 
I  bought  a  handsome  white  gown  of  fine  material 
at  the  same  price  that  was  formerly  paid  for  one 
both  black  and  coarse.  The  purchase  of  books  I 
postponed  for  the  time,  till  I  should  have  for  my 
guidance  in  this  matter  the  recommendations  of  my 
teachers,  but  I  furnished  myself  with  a  store  of 
paper  and  parchment  for  notes  and  copies,  with  other 
literary  materiaL 

On   the    Nones  of  October,  (here  the  name  of  the 


A   ROMAN    AT   ATHENS.  327 

month  is  Pyanepsias  or  the  *  month  of  pulse  cooking') 
we  that  were  new  students  paraded  at  the  Town 
Hall.  A  motley  crew  we  were,  so  far  as  country 
was  concerned,  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa  being  re- 
presented in  our  ranks.  Of  all  towns  none  sent 
more  than  Marseilles,  a  place  which  combines  in  a 
high  degree  wealth  and  culture.  From  Rome  there 
was    but   one,    myself;    from    the  rest  of  Italy  two. 

The  birthplaces  of  the  others  I  need  not  enumerate, 
nor  indeed  did  I  learn  them  all;  but  I  noticed  two 
youths  from  Britain,  with  whom  indeed  I  have  since 
made  acquaintance.  They  are  two  brothers,  and 
both  of  excellent  ability.  We  took  an  oath  that  we 
would  observe  the  laws  of  the  city,  that  we  would 
study  diligently,  that  we  would  avoid  all  idle  and 
loose  ways,  and  that  we  would  be  dutiful  to  the 
Governor  of  the  students.  This  done  we  inscribed 
our  names  upon  a  roll,  from  which  they  wilt  be 
transferred,  if  we  pass  the  year  without  discredit, 
to  a  marble  slab. 

We  did  not  omit  to  pay  certain  fees,  among 
which  were  500  sesterces  for  the  purchase  of  books, 
and  3000  sesterces  to  be  divided  among  various 
teachers  whose  lectures  we  shall  have  the  duty 
and  privilege  of  attending.  The  question  was  put 
to  us  one  by  one  to  which  school  of  philosophy 
we  belonged  or  desired  to  frequent.  In  this  matter 
a    choice    is    given    to    us,   but   only    so    far  as  the 


328  A    ROMAN   AT    ATHENS. 

Stoics  or  the  various  sects  wliicli  have  followed  more 
or  less  the  teaching  of  Plato  are  concerned.  A  stud- 
ent of  the  first  year  is  not  permitted  to  attend  the 
teaching  of  the  Epicureans.  Afterwards,  if  he  bo  of  the 
number  of  those  who  prolong  their  stay  for  the  purposes 
of  study  beyond  the  year,  he  may  follow  his  own  inclina- 
tions. I,  having  the  example  of  our  most  noble  and  wise 
Emperor  *  before  me,  chose  the  Stoics  as  my  instructors. 
If  I  can  only  learn  from  them  to  emulate  his 
virtues,  I  shall  indeed  have  visited  this  ancient  abode 
of  philosophy  to  most  excellent  purpose.  I  must, 
however,  confess  that  it  is  not  in  the  Porch,  where,  as 
you  knoW;  the  successors  of  Zeno  f  still  teach,  that  I 
have  found  the  most  fruitful  and  suggestive  instruction. 

I  do  not  desire  to  disparage  the  knowledge  and 
ability  of  the  Stoical  teacher — and  indeed  who  am 
I  that  I  should  presume,  to  criticise  so  celebrated 
a  man?  Yet,  I  say  that  I  have  myself  gained  more 
profit,  as  far  as  I  can  estimate  it,  from  the  teaching 
of  a  certain  Demon  ax. 

This  philosopher  professes  to  be  a  follower  of  the 
Cynic  Diogenes.  I  fancy  that  you  smile  as  you  read  these 
words.  "What,"  you  say,  "is  it  possible  that  anyone 

*  Marcus  Aurelius  was  now  on  the  throne. 

t  Zeno,  the  first  of  the  Stoics,  taught  in  a  place  called  the 
Painted  Porch  (or  Colonnade)  from  its  being  adorned  with 
paintings  by  Polygnatus,  and  his  successors  in  the  chair  of 
Stoical  philosophers,  as  it  may  be  called,  continued  to  frequent  it. 


A    ROMAN    AT    ATHENS.  32S 

willingly  calls  himself  by  the  name  of  that  madman? 
Or  is  there  indeed  any  Cynical  philosophy  other  than 
a  contempt,  often  itself  truly  contemptible,  for  all 
that  men  admire  and  value?"  I  do  not  deny  that  it 
is  not  any  excellence  of  system  that  attracts  me  in 
this  same  Demonax.  System  he  has  none,  as  indeed 
Diogenes  had  none.  But  he  gives  for  all  that  a 
a  singular  charm  and  attraction  to  his  teaching;  for 
every  word  that  he  says  seems  to  come  from  his  heart ; 
as  we  listen  we  say  to  ourselves,  "  this  is  a  good 
man  and  honest,  the  things  that  he  recommends  must 
be  desirable." 

He  is  a  man  of  the  most  venerable  age,  having 
already  passed  his  ninetieth  year,  and  of  an  aspect 
that  corresponds,  though  he  is  still  erect  and  vigorous. 
As  to  the  people  here,  they  could  not  honour  him 
more  were  he  a  god.  'Tis  pretty  to  see  the  children 
run  to  offer  him  fruit  and  flowers,  and  as  for  the  market 
people,  there  is  nothing  that  pleases  them  better  than 
that  he  should  accept  the  best  things  that  they  have 
on  their  stalls.  And  yet,  so  I  am  told,  there  was  a 
time  when  he  went  in  danger  of  his  life  from  his 
boldness  of  speech. 

After  he  had  been  settled  here  for  some  years, 
there  was  a  loud  outcry  against  him  because  he  had 
never  been  initiated  into  the  Eleusinian  Mysteries. 
No  good  man,  they  said,  would  have  refused  to  have 
become  a  partaker  of  the  highest  truth.  "My  friends," 


330  A   EOMAN    AT    ATHENS. 

was  his  answer,  *  I  have  avoided  the  knowledge  of 
these  secret  things  for  this  reason.  Had  I  found  them 
bad,  then  I  must,  for  conscience  sake,  have  warned 
all  men  against  them;  had  I  found  them  good,  then 
I  must,  also  for  conscience  sake,  have  made  all  men 
partakers  of  them  to  the  best  of  my  ability. " 

And  it  must  be  confessed  that  he  has  more  than  once 
shown  such  sharpness  of  tongue  that  Diogenes  himself 
whom  he  professes  to  follow  could  not  have  excelled  it. 
To  a  fat  and  pursy  citizen  who  practised  fencing  at 
a  dummy  figure,  and  asked  him,  "  Do  I  use  my  weapon 
well,  think  you?"  he  answered,  "Admirably,  so  long 
as  your  enemy  is  of  wood."  An  indifferent  pleader 
he  advised  to  practice  much  in  private  if  he  would 
improve.  "Yes,  so  I  do,"  answered  the  man.  "I  go 
over  all  my  speeches  to  myself,  not  once  but  many 
times."  "Is  it  so?"  said  Demonax,  "then  you  must 
get  another  audience." 

A.  soothsayer  he  thus  reproved,  "  Do  you  take 
pay  for  the  exercise  of  your  art?"  he  asked.  The 
man  owned  that  he  did.  "Tell  me  how  much,"  said 
the  philosopher;  and  when  the  man  named  the  sum, 
he  answered,  "'Tis  either  too  little  or  too  much; 
too  little  if  you  can  change  at  all  the  decrees  of 
fate ;  for  such  a  power  no  recompense  would  suffice ; 
but  if  these  decrees  cannot  be  changed,  what  profits 
your  soothsaying?" 

To    me    the    philosopher   has    been  most  friendly. 


A    ROMAN    AT    ATHENS.  331 

He  singled  me  out  from  his  audience  when  I  first 
heard  him,  perceiving  that  I  was  a  Roman,  and  asked 
me  many  questions  about  our  studies  at  Rome,  and 
also  about  our  Emperor,  of  whom  he  said  smiling, 
that  there  had  never  been  so  good  a  philosopher 
wasted  on  such  unprofitable  things  as  commanding 
armies  and  the  like.  Since  then  I  have  often  supped 
with  him. 

A  more  pleasant  and  more  courteous  host  could 
not  be,  and  though  he  himself  practises  the  se- 
verest abstinence,  contenting  himself  with  a  dish  of 
vegetables  and  a  draught  of  water,  he  provides 
his  friends  with  good  cake  and  generous  wine,  an 
entertainment  ample  but  not  luxurious.  He  is,  I 
should  have  said,  and  has  always  been,  a  single  man, 
though  much  importuned  by  his  friends  in  former 
days  to  change  his  condition.  Among  these,  Epicte- 
tus  the  philosopher  was  specially  urgent.  Demonax 
made  as  if  he  had  yielded  to  his  persuasion.  "  You 
are  right,"  said  he,  "I  will  marry,  if  only  you  will 
give  me  one  of  your  daughters  to  wife."  Now 
Epictetus,  who  was  then  an  old  man,  had  himself 
lived  single  all  his  life. 

Not    many    days    ago,    Demonax   took  me  to  see 

that    same    Herodos    of  whom  I  have  already  made 

mention.     He  w^as  for  a  long  time  the  most  notable 

man    in    Athens,    both  as  a  great  benefactor  of  the 

City  and  as  a  professor  of  rhetoric,  an  art  in  which 
22 


332  A   ROMAN   AT    ATHENS. 

no  one  within  the  memory  of  man  has  equalled  him. 
A  race  course  of  white  marble,  and  a  theatre  roofed 
with  cedar  are  among  the  benefactions  which  he 
bestowed  on  Athens.  For  the  benefit  of  learning  he 
has  furnished  endowments  for  more  than  one  Pro- 
fessor's chair.  Yet  the  people  have  been  little 
grateful  to  him,  bearing  him  a  grudge  for  something 
that  he  did  in  the  matter  of  his  father's  will.  * 

More  than  once  he  has  been  accused  to  the  Em- 
peror, but  has  always  been  honorably  acquitted. 
These  things  have  so  disturbed  him  that  he  has 
ceased  to  frequent  the  city,  living  always  at  his 
villa  that  overlooks  the  plain  of  Marathon.  Here  it 
was  that  I  saw  him,  being  entertained  for  two  days 
most  hospitably.  He  fills  his  house  indeed  through- 
out the  year  with  guests,  whom  he  chooses  for 
their  love  of  study. 

He  took  me  to  see  the  famous  plain,  and  described 
to  me  most  minutely  the  scene  of 'the  battle.  As  he  was 
speaking  I  found  it  easy  to  believe  that  he  had  been 
accounted  the  most  eloquent  man  of  his  generation. 
With  Demonax  he  is  on  the  most  friendly  terms,  though 

•  It  is  said  that  his  father  left  a  charge  on  the  property 
bequeathed  to  his  son  of  a  yearly  payment  of  a  mina  (£4)  to 
each  Athenian  citizen.  Atticus  compounded  with  the  citizens 
for  an  immediate  payment  of  five  minas  to  each  individual ; 
but  when  he  came  to  pay,  deducted  from  the  amount  certain 
sums  for  which  the  recipients  were  indebted  to  his  father. 


A    ROMAN    AT   ATHENS.  333 

he  too  has  felt  the  sharpness  of  the  philosopher's 
tongue,  as  you  will  see  from  what  I  am  about  to  relate. 

Some  year's  ago  Atticus  lost  his  son,  Pollux  by  name, 
a  youth  of  much  promise,  and  mourned  for  him  so 
inconsolably,  as  to  excite  the  displeasure  of  Demo- 
nax,  who  thinks  that  men  should  not  allow  them- 
selves to  be  vanquished  either  by  pleasure  or  by 
grief.  Hear  then  how  the  wise  man  reproved  him. 
Herodes  would  have  the  young  man's  chariot  harness- 
ed day  by  day  as  though  he  might  use  it,  and  a 
meal  prepared  for  him  as  though  he  might  sit  down 
to  it.  Demonax  noting  this,  said,  "  You  feign  to 
yourself  that  he  is  yet  alive?".  "Yes;"  replied  the 
father,  "  feeling  that  I  cannot  ^ve  without  him." 
"  Is  it  so?"  the  other  made  answer,  and  departed. 
The  next  day  he  returned,  saying  "  I  have  a  letter 
for  you  from  Pollux."  "What  says  he?"  cried  the 
father,  *  He  complains, "  returned  the  other,  "  that 
you  are  so  tardy  in  coming  to  him."  At  another 
time  he  said:  "Know  that  I  have  discovered  a  spell 
by  which  I  can  call  up  the  spirit  of  your  son,  but 
before  I  can  use  it  you  must  find  three  men  that 
have  never  suffered  bereavement. " 

My  host  invited  me  to  visit  him  again  when  1 
might  find  time,  and  especially  he  said  when  the 
students,  according  to  custom,  came  to  pay  the  an- 
nual honours  at  the  grave  of  those  who  fell  at  Ma- 
rathon.    You  must  know  that  this  day  is  one  of  the 


334  A    ROMAN    AT    ATHENS. 

chief  festivals  of  the  year  with  us.  Another  is  the 
anniversary  of  Sal  amis,  which  we  honour  with  hoat 
races  on  the  bay  and  other  sports. 

Speaking  of  these  things  reminds  me  to  tell  you 
that  we  are  not  less  careful  of  the  body  than  of  the 
mind.  Athletic  exercises  are  duly  practised,  and 
twice  or  thrice  a  month  we  are  roused  up  at  night, 
and  arming  ourselves  in  haste,  hurry  to  the  frontier, 
as  if  to  repel  the  attack  of  an  invader. 

To  complete  the  list  of  my  studies  I  must  tell 
you  that  I  hear  Aristides  lecture  every  other  day  on 
logic,  that  every  third  day  Callias  discourses  on 
Homer,  while  not  a  day  passes,  except  it  be  devoted 
to  some  great  festival  of  the  gods,  but  that  I  am 
present  at  a  lecture  from  one  or  other  of  the  teachers 
of  philosophy. 

From  all  these  I  hope  to  gain  much  profit.  Yet, 
if  they  were  absent,  to  live  in  this  place  where  every 
stone,  so  to  speak,  is  eloquent  of  the  great  and 
wise,  is  in  itself  a  liberal  education.  Why  should  I 
repeat  these  names  to  you  who  know  them  as  well 
as  I?  One  thing  I  may  tell  you  which  pleased  me 
as  a  Roman,  as  without  doubt  it  will  please  you. 
Yesterday,  as  I  was  walking  in  one  of  the  streets 
of  the  city,  my  companion  said  to  me,  "  See,  that 
dwelling  yonder  is  the  house  where  your  poet  Horatius 
lived  when  he  studied  in  this  place."  Rome  therefore 
has  its  share  among  the  glories  of  Athens. 


I 


XXXVI. 

AN  IMPERIAL  PIIILOSOPIIER, 
MARCUS    AURELIUS    ANTONINUS    AUGUSTUS. 

MARCUS  ATIRELTUS,  like  his  predecessor  Trajan, 
belonged  to  a  family  of  Italian  origin  that  had 
been  for  some  time  settled  in  Spain.  Losing  his 
father  in  childhood,  he  was  adopted  by  his  paternal 
grandfather,  Annins  Verus,  who  was  then  (A.D.  126) 
Consul  for  the  third  time.  The  little  Verus  (for 
that  was  then  his  name)  attracted  the  notice  of  the 
Emperor  Hadrian,  who  made  him  a  knight  when  he 
was  but  six  years  old,  and  a  Priest  of  Mars  two 
years  afterwards. 

Among  the  qualities  which  excited  the  admira- 
tion of  Hadrian  was  the  lad's  transparent  honesty 
and  truthfulness.  Verisshnus,  he  would  playfully 
call  him,  making  an  appropriate  superlative  of  his 
name.  When  he  was  twelve  he  assumed  the  charac- 
teristic dress  of  the  philosopher,  a  thick  woollen 
cloak,    worn    also  by  soldiers  on  active  service,  and 


336  AN  IMPERIAL  PHILOSOPHER. 

probably  intended  as  a  protest  against  the  ornate 
and  luxurious  dress  of  civil  life.  Luxury,  indeed, 
had  no  charms  for  the  young  Verus.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  was  strongly  inclined  to  the  asceticism 
which  was  at  this  time  gaining  a  strong  hold  on  the 
Christian  community.  He  adopted  the  practice  of 
sleeping  on  the  ground,  and  could  hardly  be  induced 
by  the  persuasions  of  his  servants  to  use  a  couch 
covered  with  lion  skins.  As  it  was,  his  health 
was  affected  by  his  devotion  to  study.  "  This,"  says  his 
biographer,  "  was  the  only  point  on  which  the  life  of 
the  boy  was  open  to  censure." 

We  are  reminded  of  what  another  of  the  noblest  sons 
of  Rome,  Agricola,  said  about  himself,*  that  there 
was  a  time  in  his  early  youth  "  when  he  would  have 
imbibed  a  keener  love  of  philosophy  than  became  a 
Roman  and  a  senator,  had  not  his  mother's  good  sense 
checked  his  excited  and  ardent  spirit."  Meanwhile  great 
prospects  were  opening  out  before  the  youth.  Hadrian 
had  adopted  one  Ceionius  Commodus,  and  Verus  was 
betrothed  to  his  daughter,  probably  with  a  view  to 
the  succession.  The  new  Prince  died  but  a  little 
more  than  a  year  after  his  adoption. 

The  Emperor  now  made  a  much  happier  choice  in 
the  person  of  Arrius  Antoninus.  At  the  same  time  he 
imposed  the  condition  that  the  new;ly  adopted  son  should 

•Reported  by  his  biographer  and  son-in-law. 


AN    IMPERIAL    PHILOSOPHER.  337 

himself  adopt  the  youthful  Verus  and  a  son  of  the 
deceased  Ceionius  Commodus.  Hadrian  died  in  138,  and 
Arrius  Antoninus  succeeded  him  on  the  throne.  The 
surname  of  Pius  was  given  him,  it  is  commonly 
supposed,  in  recognition  of  his  dutiful  conduct  in 
procuring  the  usual  honours  of  deification  for  his 
adopting  father,  the  Senate  being  disposed  to  refuse 
them  on  account  of  the  cruelties  of  Hadrian's  later 
years. 

In  147,  Antoninus  Pius  shared  the  Imperial  honour 
with  Aurelius  (this  was  the  name  which  Verus  had 
assumed  on  his  adoption).  For  fourteen  years  the 
two  acted  together  with  perfect  harmony,  and  this 
was  beyond  doubt  the  happiest  period  in  the  life  of 
Aurelius.  The  Empire  enjoyed  a  repose  such  as  had 
never  fallen  to  its  lot  before,  and  was  never  realised 
again;  and  in  his  own  home  the  troubles  which  dis- 
turbed his  later  years  had  not  begun,  or,  at  least, 
did  not  press. 

In  161  Antoninus  died,  committing  the  Empire 
to  Aurelius  with  his  last  breath,  and  making  no 
mention,  it  would  seem,  of  the  son  o-f  Commodus. 
The  first  act  of  Aurelius  was  to  associate  his 
brother  by  adoption  in  the  Empire.  It  was  certainly 
a  disinterested  act,  and  it  would  have  been  a  wise 
one,  had  the  new  colleague  been  really  worthy 
his    promotion.     At   the    time,  indeed,  he  seemed  to 

be    so.     He    was  young,  active,  and  vigorous,  fit  to 

22 


338  AN   IMPERIAL    PHILOSOPHER. 

iiglit  the  battles  of  the  Empire,  while  Aurelius  would 
manage  civil  affairs.  Possibly  promotion  spoilt  him. 
He  took  command,  indeed,  of  the  armies  which  were 
sent  to  operate  against  the  Parthians^  but  the  com- 
mand was  only  nominal.  Great  victories  were  won, 
but  they  were  won  by  his  lieutenants.  Verus  him- 
self, for  that  was  the  name  by  which  he  was  known, 
spent  his  time  in  dissolute  excesses.  He  died  of 
apoplexy  in  169,  and  Aurelius  was  thenceforward 
sole  Emperor. 

It  was  a  heavy  burden  that  he  had  to  bear,  and 
he  bore  it  with  a  courage  and  a  constancy  that  are 
beyond  all  praise.  A  scholar  and  a  student,  he 
had  to  spend  his  life  in  the  camp.  This  uncongenial 
task  he  performed  with  extraordinary  success.  The 
exhaustion  of  the  empire  by  famine  and  pestilence 
compelled  him  to  fill  up  the  ranks  of  his  legions 
with  gladiators  and  slaves.  Yet  the  armies  thus 
recruited  won  signal  victories  under  his  leadership. 
A  formidable  confederacy  of  the  northern  tribes 
threatened  the  Empire  with  the  ruin  which  actually 
overtook  it  three  centuries  later.  The  imperial  philo- 
sopher crushed  it,  as  if  he  had  been  a  Marius  or  a 
Caesar. 

The  Marcomanni  were  defeated  in  170,  the  Quadi 
in  174.  Scarcely  had  the  latter  victory  been  won 
when  the  intrigues  of  the  Empress  Faustina  led 
to   troubles  in   the   East.     This   woman,  always  the 


AN   IMPERIAL    PHILOSOPHER.  339 

plague  and  disgrace  of  her  husband,  now  went 
dangerously  near  to  a  treasonable  conspiracy  against 
him.  The  health  of  the  Emperor  was  weak;  his  heir 
was  a  vicious  lad  only  just  in  his  teens.  Faustina 
feared  lest,  if  Aurelius  should  die,  the  legions  might 
choose  another  Prince,  and  wrote  to  Avidius  Cassius, 
who  commanded  the  armies  of  the  East,  bidding  him 
hold  himself  in  readiness  to  seize  the  reins  of  power. 
Her  own  hand  and  the  throne  were  to  be  his  reward. 

A  rumour  reached  the  East  that  the  Emperor  was 
dead,  and  Cassius  immediately  had  himself  proclaimed. 
When  a  contradiction  followed,  he  believed  that  he 
had  offended  beyond  all  pardon,  and  persisted  in  his 
rebellion.  With  the  greatest  reluctance  Aurelius 
marched  against  him.  Nothing,  he  told  his  soldiers, 
was  so  hateful  to  him  as  civil  war,  and  nothing 
would  please  him  better  than  to  be  able  to  forgive. 
What  he  most  feared  was  that  Cassius'  own  shame 
and  despair  or  the  hand  of  some  loyal  subject  should 
anticipate  his  purposes  of  clemency.  The  latter 
anticipation  was  fulfilled.  A  little  more  than  three 
months  after  his  assumption  of  the  purple,  Cassius 
was  assassinated  by  two  of  his  officers.  The  murderers 
brought  his  bloody  head  to  Aurelius,  but  he  turned 
away  in  disgust. 

The  Emperor  would  have  accorded  his  forbear- 
ance to  all  concerned  in  the  unhappy  affair.  The 
papers    of   Cassius    he    destroyed  unread.     Of  those 


340  AN   IMPERIAL    PHILOSOPHER. 

who  had  notoriously  taken  part  with  the  usurper 
not  one  suffered  death.  The  wretched  Empress  died 
while  he  was  on  his  way  eastward.  Her  son  lived 
to  succeed  his  father,  and  to  he,  perhaps,  the  vilest 
ruler  that  ever  disgraced  a  throne.  It  was  a  lamentable 
weakness  in  the  philosophic  Emperor  to  shut  his  eyes 
to  a  wickedness  of  which  he  could  not  have  been 
ignorant.  The  principle  of  adoption  had  had  ihe 
happiest  results.  Nerva,  chosen  by  the  Senate,  had 
adopted  Trajan,  Trajan  Hadrian,  Hadrian  Antoninus, 
and  Antoninus  Aurelius.  The  last  of  the  good  Emperors 
reverted  to  the  principle  of  inheritance,  and  the 
golden  age  of  Rome  was  at  an  end.  Aurelius  died 
in  his  fifty-ninth  year  (A.D.  180.) 

Aurelius  was  a  Stoic,  but  a  Stoic  with  a  difference. 
He  modified  the  paradoxical  tenets  of  the  school  with 
the  sobriety  of  thought  that  characterised  the  Roman 
mind.  Suicide,  in  particular,  to  which  the  Stoic 
teachers  had  been  accustomed  to  give  a  hearty  approval, 
did  not  commend  itself  to  him.  It  may  be  truly  said 
that  this  act  is  an  expression  of  consummate  egotism. 
The  man  who,  at  the  bidding  of  his  conscience  or 
his  pride,  puts  an  end  to  his  own  life,  puts  himself 
above  nature,  or  the  Ruler  of  nature.  But  Aurelius 
was  not  an  egotist.  On  the  contrary,  he  develops 
in  his  philosophical  thought  what  is  notoriously  absent 
from  all  non-Christian  philosophy — humility.  The 
sentence  which  he  quotes  with  approval  from  Epictetus 


AN    IMPERIAL    PHILOSOPHER.  841 

— "Thou  art  a  little  soul,  bearing  about  a  corpse," 
— was  not  one  which  would  have  commended  itself 
to  a  Cato.  And,  if  you  change  Nature  to  God,  there 
is  a  Christian  ring  in  the  following: — "To  Nature, 
that  giveth  all  and  taketh  all  away^  he  that  is 
instructed  and  modest  says,  *  Give  what  thou  wilt — 
take  what  thou  wilt  away.'  And  this  he  says  in  a 
spirit  not  of  pride  but  of  subordination  and  loyalty." 
It  is  interesting,  indeed,  to  see  how  much  the  philo- 
sopher is  penetrated,  all  unconsciously,  we  cannot 
but  think,  with  the  Christian  spirit.  He  counsels,  for 
instance,  self-examination.  He  tells  us,  almost  in  the 
Master's  words,  that  it  is  not  the  things  without,  but 
the  things  within,  that  disturb  the  man.  On  the 
subject  of  prayer^  too,  he  has  some  noble  utterances. 
"  If  the  gods  can  grant  anything,  why  not  pray  to 
them  to  grant  that  thou  mayest  not  be  afraid  of 
anything,  or  lust  after  or  repine  at  anything,  rather 
than  that  anything  may  or  may  not  come  to  pass." 
Many  Christians  have  less  exalted  conceptions  than  this. 
But  if  we  admire  the  man,  we  must  also  pity 
him.  He  was  not  happy.  About  the  other  life  he  could 
only  doubt.  He  speaks  of  dim  eternities  stretching 
on  either  side  of  us;  but  whether  we  have  or  have 
not  any  part  in  them  he  could  not  say.  "If  the 
gods,"  he  says  in  one  place,  "  have  ordered  all  things 
well,  can  it  be  that  the  men  who  by  holy  deeds  have 
become    most    familiar    with    the  Divine,  when  once 


342  AN    IMPERIAL    PHILOSOPHER. 

they  die,  cease  to  be?"  All  that  he  can  suggest  as 
an  answer  is  this :  "  If  this  be  so,  be  sure,  that  if  it 
ought  to  have  been  otherwise,  they  would  have  so 
ordered  it.  .  .  .  Because  it  is  not  so,  if  in  fact 
it  is  not  so,  be  certainly  assured  that  it  ought  not 
to  have  been  so." 

And  if  the  prospect  of  another  life  was  dim,  if 
not  actually  closed  to  him,  he  found  his  philosophy, 
as  all  have  found  it,  a  poor  protection  against  the  ills 
and  disappointments  of  this.  His  home  was  wretched: 
among  counsellors  and  friends  he  could  hardly  find 
one  in  whom  he  could  trust.  Where  was  he  to  look 
for  help  or  comfort?  "Come  quick,"  he  cries  in  one 
place,   "lest,  perchance,  I  too  should  forget  myself! " 

But  he  left  a  memory  so  dear  and  so  reverenced 
as  the  memory  of  few  rulers  has  been.  "  In  life  and 
in  death,"  says  his  biographer,  "he  was  close  akin 
to  the  lords  in  heaven."  A  foolish  and  blasphemous 
adulation  was  wont  to  give  divine  rank  to  the  Impe- 
rial throne.  It  was  a  pure  and  tender  gratitude 
that  cherished  the  memory  of  Aurelius.  He  had 
preserved  an  unblemished  sanctity  of  life  among  the 
temptations  of  a  throne,  and  he  had  spent  himself 
unsparingly  for  the  good  of  his  people;  and  he  was 
not  forgotten  ;  for  centuries  afterwards  the  likenesses 
of  the  philosopher  Emperor  were  among  the  most 
cherished  possessions  of  families  which  kept  alive 
the  tradition  of  his  goodness. 


AN    IMPERIAL    PIIILOSOPHEK.  343 

And  yet,  he  was  a  persecutor  of  the  Christian 
Church.  *  Perhaps  his  Stoic  teachers,  who  had  begun 
to  hate  this  formidable  rival,  had  turned  his  heart 
against  it.  Perhaps  he  saw  the  irreconcilable  hos- 
tility between  the  Empire  and  the  new  society.  The 
fact   remains :  Justin  at  Rome,  Polycarp  at  Smyrna, 

*  Christians  of  succeeding  times,  when  the  pressure  of  per- 
secution had  passed  away,  felt  a  desire  to  claim  so  admirable 
a  prince  as  at  least  a  favourer  of  the  faith,  and  showed  this 
feeling  in  a  not  unusual  way.  An  edict  enjoining  toleration  was 
attributed  to  him.  This  is  unquestionably  spurious.  He  is  also 
said  to  have  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Senate,  declaring  that  in 
the  war  with  the  Marcomanni  his  army  had  been  saved  from 
perishing  by  thirst  through  the  intercession  of  a  Christian  legion 
in  his  army.  The  letter  went  on,  it  was  said,  to  exempt  the 
Christians  from  persecution,  and  to  bestow  on  this  particular 
legion  the  title  of  Fulminatrix.  All  the  particulars  about  the 
legion  are  manifestly  fictitious.  There  could  not  have  been  a 
"  Christian  Legion  "  in  the  army  of  Aurelius.  The  title  Fulminatrix 
(more  commonly  Fulminata)  had  been  the  title  of  the  Tenth 
legion  for  nearly  two  centuries.  But  some  remarkable  event  of 
the  kind  undoubtedly  happened.  It  is  still  to  be  seen  represented 
in  the  sculptures  of  the  Antonine  column.  The  Roman  soldiers 
are  holding  up  their  shields  to  catch  the  rain,  while  the  enemy 
are  struck  by  lightning.  Dion  Cassius  tells  the  story;  so  does 
Claudius  Apollinaris,  a  contemporary  and  a  native  of  the  country 
where  the  event  is  said  to  have  taken  place.  It  is  not  too 
much  to  believe  that  there  were  Christian  soldiers  in  the  army 
that  they  prayed  for  help,  and  that  the  help  came  in  the  shape  of 
timely  showers.  But  Aurelius'  hostile  attitude  towards  Christianity 
is  not  affected. 


344 


AN   IMPERIAL   PHILOSOPHER. 


Blandina  and  Pothcinos  at  Lyons,  suffered  by  his  per- 
secution, it  may  even  be  said  by  his  command. 
What  are  we  to  say  ?  Nothing,  except  it  be  to  give 
an  application  which  the  sufferers  themselves  would 
not,  we  may  believe,  have  refused  to  give,  to  the 
dying  words  of  Stephen,  "Lord,  forgive  him,  for  he 
knew  not  what  he  did." 


THE   END. 


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